"What kind of loan is this? It just came out of nowhere?" Alex walked behind the cashier counter with a confused look on his face. Mary let out a heavy sigh, her long brown hair fell forward and partially covered her golden eyes. Her curvy body leaned tired against the counter
While Ash, less timid, clung tightly to his arm. Her huge breasts sandwiched and pressed soft and warm to his side. Her thick thighs pressed closely on his leg.
Then Mary began speaking, her voice came out slow and defeated.
"It wasn't a bank loan. Banks wouldn't give money to someone like me… someone who was barely scraping by." She paused for a long moment. Her shoulders dropped a little more.
"I could hardly cover rent back then. There was no chance they'd ever approve anything." Her voice lowered further. "A while back I worked at a fancy cafe owned by this rich woman named Romi. She's filthy rich and runs a bunch of businesses. She saw how hard I was working and offered me the cash as an 'investment.' But she made the contract tight on purpose. If I don't pay back the full amount, she takes the store legally as compensation."
She paused once again before carrying on talking about this filthy rich young woman. "She's planning to turn it into one of her own cafes either way. If the store succeeds, she collects a good profit from the payback. If it fails, she grabs the property cheap. Win-win for her... Ah I signed six months ago. The terms were completely in her favor, but I thought it would work out, so I took the risk anyway."
Mary looked down at the ground with a bitter expression. Her fingers tightened on the counter edge. Her golden eyes shimmered with frustration and old pain of struggles.
She had poured years of savings and planning into this place, and now it felt like it was slipping away again. She kept her eyes down. Her golden eyes glistened with tears.
Her voice cracked slightly as she continued. "I tried everything I could think of. I stayed open late alone sometimes… just to make a little extra. Things were finally starting to get better with your help and Anna's."
She looked up at Alex, but averted her eyes in defeat and shoulders slumped further. "And now… now I'm going to lose everything again..."
Her words hung heavy in the air and silence roamed. She sounded exhausted, not just from the whole day working, but from years of trying to survive on her own with Ash.
A single tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, but the bitterness remained etched in her face. Seeing all this, Alex's chest tighten, the bond between them was making the waves of her emotions flood his chest too.
Ash hugged her mother tighter from the side. Her mesmerizing golden eyes looked up at Alex with a silent plea. "I'm sorry for all the struggle, Mom…"
Alex stepped closer. He wrapped one arm around Mary and pulled her curvy body gently against his chest. She melted softly into him. He kept his tone firm yet gentle. "We're not losing it. Tell me the exact details. What is Romi's full background? How much did she invest? What is the total payback amount now?"
Mary looked up at him with shaky eyes. "She loaned me around a hundred thousands. She gave me two weeks period extra... I barely have half the amount."
Ash added quietly while still clinging to his arm. "She was here just now. You probably met her on the way in."
Alex nodded, his hand stroked Mary's back slowly and reassuringly, then he asked in a calm voice. "Is the contract paper here? She looks like a cunning woman, we need to look for any other traps."
Mary pulled a thick stack of documents from a drawer and she handed it to him carefully.
Alex flipped through the pages slowly. The lines stared back at him. Mary's voice trembled as she spoke again. "I thought we had time. I thought with your help… the extra customers, the late nights… we could turn it around. And now this. Two weeks, it's everything I have now..."
Her voice broke completely on the last words. She bit her lower lip hard it almost burst with blood while trying to hold back the sob that wanted to escape.
Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. Her usual cheerful attitude was gone after what she felt like a slap on her cheeks.
Especially when things were getting better for her.
Ash's eyes filled with tears too, she realized deeply how much her mom struggled and hugged her tighter. "Mom… we're going to figure something out. We have to."
Alex tightened his hold on Mary and he spoke quietly but with calm certainty, not a single worry showed on his face, which gave the two girls some well-need relief. "We will. I'm not letting this happen"
Mary looked up at him through blurry eyes, his words felt so warming. "Alex… I appreciate it more than you know. But this isn't your problem. I can't ask you to—"
"You're not asking" he cut in gently. "I want this store to survive"
Mary's lip trembled as she leaned her forehead against his chest for a moment. "I don't want to burden you. I've already dragged Ash into my stupid mistakes for years. I can't drag you too."
Alex lifted her chin carefully so she met his eyes, he smiled wide and gentle. "You're not dragging anyone, Mary. This store matters to me too and you can consider me a family now. I'm willing to help."
Mary's tears fell freely now. She nodded once, unable to speak for a moment. On the other hand, Ash sniffled against his arm. "Thank you… Mom's been carrying this alone for so long. She never asks for help. But she needs it now."
Alex gave them both a reassuring squeeze. "We have two weeks. We can figure something out."
He looked very confident but he was struggling to think of any solution. He had no one to ask for opinion other than the succubus residing in his body. 'Liza, any suggestions?'
But to her nature, Liza giggled shamelessly. "I don't know ~ but that rich gal smells like an easy takeover for you. You could just charm her and fuck her brains out until she forgets the loans hehehe~ but seriously, I think two weeks is enough to scrape together some money. Want to give your hard-earned cash to your cute MILF? If you help me get enough energy, I'll work past my limits and create more money for you. But honestly, it's easier if you just fuck this rich girl's brains out and make her in your favor."
Alex stayed silent to Liza's suggestions, after all she always left him speechless. However, her suggestions was suiting to his powers and charm, but still quite unethical?
He had no clear plan yet... Both of Liza's ideas involved pounding pussies and creaming them.
He still had a few days left before Janeth's deal deadline. He also felt worried after the cloaked figure that had intense killing intent towards him.
Everything was closing in tight from all sides, but the solution is sex? Sounded like a typical incubus x succubus plan.
Alex returned his attention to Mary who was resting in his embrace, slowly calming down. The he broke the silence and spoke with quiet confidence. "I will handle things with this Romi... Give me her contract information"
Mary looked at him with confusion and a flicker of hope. She thought he was planning to persuade her to give them more time before the payback. "Alex… you don't have to do this. I don't want to drag you into my mess."
Ash squeezed his arm tighter. "But if he says he can handle it… Daddy is a reliable man!"
Listening to Ash's encouraging words, Alex looked into Mary's eyes with a smile. "I will handle it, trust me."
Mary's eyes filled with tears again, she swallowed hard and felt hesitant to throw her problems to others, but his determined eyes made her anxiety fade. "I… thank you. I don't know what I did to deserve this, but… thank you."
She stepped on her toes and rested her face towards his, leaving soft sweet kiss on his lips then wiping the tears with a handkerchief.
Alex gave them both a small, reassuring smile. "We'll figure it out. Together."
Mary and Ash looked at him with confusion. They had no idea what plan he had. But both trusted him completely.
They remained silent and went back to working normally. Alex truly felt clueless about what to do next. But like Liza said, two weeks was enough time to figure something out and save the store from becoming another wealthy woman's cafe chain location.
Alex looked at the contract one final time. Romi's purple eyes behind those sunglasses lingered in his mind. Maybe he should just take the incubus way of getting things go his way?
The three spent a couple more hours working hard at the store before going home getting some good rest. Since the two girls were emotional, Alex couldn't go home and spent the night at the apartment.
And of course without forgetting to "help" Mary ease up the anxiety she had all piled up. A very hot night to lift up the burden on her shoulders.