Tempting offer

"Hi!" Kelly sprang up, her head hit the roof of her little cubicle. Ow.

"Are you alright?" He asked calmly, and unfeeling.

"I'm fine," Kelly groaned, that hurt. At least she didn't have to pinch herself, he was real.

"Are you a police officer?" A small voice came from the corner.

He turned to the little girl,

"No..." He said, "are you?"

The girl giggled, "No! I'm only four!"

August shrugged his brows, "could have fooled me," he smiled, "mind if I steal Miss Richardson for a moment?"

The little girl shook her head and Kelly slowly came out of the booth, not entirely certain if this was happening. She should have asked Brianna what he wanted!

"Hi,"

He nodded her along and Kelly followed before spotting Mrs Garcia. The host.

"I can't." August paused and raised a perfectly aligned brow.

"I work by the hour, I can't just leave." She said

He looked around in disbelief, and disdain. "I'll pay your day,"

Kelly scoffed with a laugh. Oh, he was serious. She narrowed her eyes, arrogant as he sounded, he came all this way, it had to be important.

"Gimme a minute,"

Kelly went on to explain to Mrs Garcia about the emergency and promised to make it up to her if she had another party.

The lady was kind, sending her off with cake, and promising to pay the hours already spent.

Kelly stared at the man seated across from her, what was this about? Excited as she was, billionaires didn't just find people out for the fun of it.

"I have a proposition for you"

"Me?"

Kelly's phone buzzed. She pulled it out before realizing who she was sitted across. Muttering an apology, she opened the text. Her jaw dropped.

How many zeroes was that? She looked at the man apprehensively, this...

"Did you send this?"

"I said I'd pay for your day,"

Kelly scoffed in disbelief before laughing, "how much do you think I charge per hour?"

When she'd calmed down, she frowned. What did this guy want? If she was doubting him being August, she wasn't anymore, none of her friends could fork out that much money just to prank her.

"What exactly do you want from me?" Kelly asked.

"I'm not good with negotiations, so I'll be straight,"

The waiter came in with two cups of coffee. She watched in awe as he put four cubes in. She didn't know he had a sweet tooth. Then again, she knew next to nothing about this unpopular billionaire.

"I am willing to pay off every debt, or loan, you've ever acquired." He passed her a file.

Kelly opened it apprehensively. There were pictures, of a beautiful studio.

"There are countless more like that. I will get your art into any gallery of your choice."

"What...what do you want from me?" This was a lot to be offering an unknown art student.

"I want you to sell me the next six months of your life," he said.

"What?"

"Miss Richardson, I want to run experiments with you. My researchers believe your blood is the cure to my illness" he said.

Experiments. She heard that in the news. "Experiments?" Kelly bit her lip.

His face harden.

"I assure you, those rumours are false, they..."

Kelly's phone rang and she buzzed it.

She sighed, before pushing the file to the side, tempting as it was. "rumors aside, why do you want to experiment on me?"

"Your blood is unique miss Richardson. According to your file, you've never had an injury that went passed a few hours,"

How did he know that?

"Unique? How?"

"I can only assume it's genetic. Your blood works to heal you. Mine has the opposite effect."

"So you want me to give you my blood?"

"There is more to it," he said.

"How much more?" Her heart wanted to put everything on the line for this man.

He probably didn't recall but he helped her a long time ago. She wanted to repay the favour but this, was a huge ask.

Rumours say his brother killed people with his experiments and here he was offering her the world to be experimented on. Wasn't that the devil's temptation?

Was she willing to put her life on the line for him? He was right in front of her. She wasn't sure she could.

"Nothing life threatening, Miss Richardson. I assure you" He said, desperation tinting his tone.

"How do I trust that?" Kelly asked. The Clines controlled everything in New Grephar, she was an unknown student with a librarian for a single mother. If she wasn't victim material, no one was.

"I would never break my deal with you, Miss Richardson."

She drew in a deep breath, "I..." Her phone rang again. "One moment..."