THE BILLIONAIRE'S SECRET ASSISTANT
A Nigerian Romance Novel
Written by Tomilola Grace
CHAPTER ONE: THE WOMAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
The first time Zara Bello met billionaire Nathaniel King, she spilled coffee on his million-naira suit.
The second time, she discovered he had been searching for her for six years.
And by the third time, she wished she had never accepted the job.
But that morning, Zara knew none of these things.
All she knew was that she had forty-eight hours to find the money for her younger brother's surgery.
"Please, ma, you have to understand," she begged the hospital administrator over the phone. "My brother is only nineteen. I cannot lose him."
"I'm sorry, Miss Bello. We have already extended the deadline twice."
The call ended.
Zara stared at her phone while tears gathered in her eyes. Around her, Lagos moved as though the world had no problems. Cars honked, vendors shouted, and people hurried past her without noticing the young woman whose future was falling apart.
Her brother, David, was the only family she had left.
Their parents had died in a road accident when Zara was seventeen. Since then, she had worked every job she could find to keep David in school. Now, one unexpected illness threatened to take him away from her too.
She wiped her face and opened her email.
One new message waited.
Subject: Executive Assistant Position — Final Interview
The company was Kingstone Global, one of Nigeria's largest investment and property firms. Its owner, Nathaniel King, was famous for his wealth, his business intelligence, and his refusal to tolerate mistakes.
Zara had applied for the position three weeks earlier and assumed she had been rejected.
The email requested her presence at the company's Victoria Island headquarters that afternoon.
She checked the time.
11:15 a.m.
The interview was at noon.
For the first time that day, Zara allowed herself to hope.
At 11:57 a.m., Zara stepped into the marble lobby of Kingstone Global.
The receptionist examined her simple navy dress and worn handbag.
"You're here for the executive assistant interview?"
"Yes."
"You're late."
"I'm three minutes early."
The receptionist blinked, then pointed toward the elevators.
"Thirty-second floor. Don't keep Mr. King waiting."
Zara entered the elevator, repeating possible interview answers beneath her breath.
She was good with numbers, excellent at organizing schedules, and fluent in the language of difficult people. What she lacked in connections, she made up for in determination.
When the elevator opened, a handsome man stood outside the executive office.
He wore a charcoal suit, a white shirt, and a silver watch. His expression was so controlled that Zara wondered whether he ever smiled.
"Miss Zara Bello?"
"Yes, sir."
"I'm Nathaniel King."
Her heart stumbled.
The photographs in business magazines had not prepared her for how intimidating he looked in person.
"Good afternoon, Mr. King."
He glanced at his watch.
"You have three minutes to convince me that hiring you would not be a mistake."
Zara swallowed.
"Then I hope you ask the right questions, sir."
One eyebrow lifted.
"Confident."
"Desperate, actually. But I prefer to appear confident."
For a second, he looked as though he might laugh.
Instead, he opened the office door.
"Come in."
His office overlooked the Lagos Lagoon. A large desk stood beside floor-to-ceiling windows, and a laptop glowed beside several neatly arranged files.
Zara sat when instructed.
Nathaniel studied her résumé.
"Your qualifications are impressive. Why have you worked at three different companies in four years?"
"Because I needed better pay, and each position taught me something new."
"And why should I believe you won't leave this job when someone offers you more money?"
"Because I need stability, sir. Not another title."
He looked up.
Something in his expression changed.
Before he could respond, Zara's phone vibrated. She glanced at the screen and saw a message from the hospital.
FINAL NOTICE: PAYMENT REQUIRED BY TOMORROW.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
Nathaniel noticed.
"Family emergency?"
"It's personal."
"I didn't ask whether it was your business. I asked whether it was an emergency."
She hesitated.
"My younger brother is in hospital. I need this job."
He closed her résumé.
"You're hired."
Zara stared at him.
"What?"
"You start tomorrow. Your salary is double what you requested, and the company will provide health insurance for eligible dependants, subject to our policy."
She could barely speak.
"Thank you, sir. You won't regret this."
"Don't thank me yet. My last assistant resigned after eleven days."
"Why?"
"She said working for me was like working for a man who had forgotten he was human."
Zara stood and straightened her dress.
"Then perhaps you need someone who will remind you."
Silence filled the office.
She immediately regretted saying it.
Nathaniel rose slowly.
"Miss Bello, I have a question."
"Yes, sir?"
"Have we met before?"
Zara searched his face.
"No, sir. I would remember."
He held her gaze for a moment longer.
"That's what I thought."
But after she left, Nathaniel locked his office door, opened a drawer, and removed a faded photograph.
It showed a little girl standing beside a woman outside a modest house. The child wore a yellow dress and held a red balloon.
On the back, someone had written a name.
Zara Bello.
Nathaniel stared at the photograph, his jaw tightening.
Six years ago, a woman had begged his father to protect her daughter. That same night, a fire had destroyed the woman's home, and the girl had disappeared.
Nathaniel had spent years trying to discover what happened to them.
Now the girl was working for him.
And she had absolutely no idea why.
He picked up his phone and called the one person he had sworn never to contact again.
When the man answered, Nathaniel spoke only six words.
"She's here. Zara is alive."
The reply made his blood run cold.
"Then you must dismiss her before she remembers."
END OF CHAPTER ONE