Liam was a little perplexed by this. He could not understand how Ivar had managed to become deputy manager when all he seemed to know besides threatening to fire people was actually firing them!Liam stuck a finger in his ear as though he had heard something nasty and replied coolly, "Is that all you know, Mr. Nicoson? I've heard that at least a hundred times already!"Ivar froze and was just about to hurl some more insults at Liam when the latter continued, "You want to fire me, Mr. Nicoson? Too bad then. I was hired by Ms. Bristow herself, and if you wish to fire me, I'm afraid you'll have to speak to her. Besides, she just assigned me a new job, and surely she would not want her trusty employee fired before he could even carry out her task. Why don't you ask her right now and see if she agrees with you firing me?"Ivar had secretly always resented Sunniva for surpassing him in everything when it came to their work performance. Therefore, it irked him even more to hear Liam bring
Xora was too stunned for words. She merely stood there, utterly baffled, as she clutched her rapidly swelling cheek. Even Ivar seemed to have the wind knocked out of him. He never thought Liam would actually hit someone, without any fear of consequences. However, the searing pain in her cheek seemed to instill some sense into Xora, and the next moment, she snapped out of her stupor to glare at Liam, seething. "Liam! How dare you hit me? How dare you hit me in front of Mr. Nicoson?"Ivar, too, had rounded on Liam with a look of white-hot fury. "This is unacceptable! Liam, how dare you attack a member of staff right in front of me? Don't you know that aside from being the director of your department, she's also…"Liam shrugged and said coolly, cutting him off, "I know! Aside from her position in the company, she's also your mistress!"Ivar froze, clearly taken aback. The words of his unfinished sentence seemed to have gotten lodged in his throat, and there was nothing he could do
Liam could not stand bullies who hid behind their power, and threats only fueled his disdain. Ivar, unfortunately, was guilty of both.With a firm grip on Ivar's wrist, Liam squeezed just enough to elicit a series of ear-piercing shrieks from him, reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard.Xora, previously smug, was then petrified. Witnessing Ivar's hand forced against the wall by Liam, she paled and scurried to the side in fear.The four bodyguards were caught off guard by Liam's audacity. They stood there, dumbstruck, completely forgetting to rescue their boss from his pinned position.Ivar, catching a glimpse of his dazed bodyguards, bellowed, "What are you idiots doing? Can't you see I'm stuck against the wall??"That snapped the bodyguards out of their stupor. With menacing looks, they barked at Liam, "Hey, kid! Let go of Mr. Nicoson, or you'll regret it!"Liam barely acknowledged them, his gaze icy as he continued to twist Ivar's wrist, drawing out more screams of agony."Damn
Liam's hand whipped back, delivering another stinging slap across Ivar's cheek. He snapped, irritation lacing his words, "Mr. Nicoson, give it a rest, will you? I just told you to stop threatening to fire people willy-nilly. Did that slip your mind already?"As soon as the words left his mouth, Liam's grip on Ivar's arm tightened and twisted. A sharp crack echoed, followed by Ivar's agonizing scream as his arm was wrenched out of its socket by Liam."Ah! My arm, my arm!!" Ivar's face contorted with pain as he bellowed in rage, "Damn it!! Kendall, get over here and take him down!! Or I swear, I'll have you all thrown out on your ears!!"Kendall stood frozen, eyes bulging in shock. He could not believe Liam had the guts to actually break Ivar's arm.Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kendall mopped the sweat from his brow and offered a regretful look to Liam. "Mr. Cole, sorry, but we've got to take you in."With that, Kendall motioned for the security guards to step in and pry
Back in the security room, Kendall found Liam lounging on the couch like he owned the place, surrounded by offerings of fruit, coffee, and cigarettes, as if he were the guest of honor.The eager-to-please new guards hovered around him, all smiles and nods, hanging on Liam's every word.Not everyone in the department knew Liam by face, but his reputation was well-known: the skilled personal bodyguard of none other than Manager Ms. Bristow. The juiciest bit? The persistent whispers that he was more than just her bodyguard—he was rumored to be her boyfriend.Unconfirmed as it was, the rumor was enough to keep the new guards from stepping on Liam's toes. They practically revered the guy.Liam was halfway through his snack of fruit and sipping coffee when the security office door flew off its hinges with a bang. A mountain of a man in a security uniform barged in, flanked by two equally imposing figures, their faces storm clouds of fury. The junior guards jumped, one spinning around
If Liam got roughed up in the security office, how on earth would they explain it to Kendall? "Scram!" Ricardo, already a ticking time bomb, was incensed when a lowly security guard dared to intervene. With a scowl and a snarl, he barked and then landed a fierce kick on the guard, shouting, "Who do you think you are to speak here? Get out, or you'll be next!" No sooner had he spoken than Ricardo's two henchmen followed suit, their faces stormy as they herded the rest of the guards out of the office and slammed the door shut, locking it tight.Ricardo spun around, his eyes icy as they locked onto Liam. With a mocking laugh, he wasted no time, flicking on his stun baton and jabbing it at Liam's gut.A crackling noise filled the air, quickly followed by the acrid smell of burning flesh.Thud!A body hit the floor hard, the impact so heavy it seemed to shake the ground itself. Ricardo was no lightweight, that was for sure.The two guards by the door were still processing the scene w
The guard jerked as the shock hit him, convulsing wildly before his baton clattered to the ground. He slumped down, eyes rolling back. Liam watched the guard crumple with a mirthless chuckle, then kicked him in the gut. The guard flew like a ragdoll, slamming into the office door and leaving a human-shaped crater.The lone security guard left standing was gripping his baton, his face etched with sheer panic, sweat beading on his forehead. Liam shot him a chilling look, and the guard shook like a leaf, dropping his baton and bowing deeply, pleading through tears, "Mr. Cole... I'm sorry, I was wrong, please don't hit me... Forgive me, I realize my mistake... I had no choice. Mr. Nicoson told us to come after you. He's the company's VP, and he'd fire me if I disobeyed..."Mr. Cole, have mercy, I'm not to blame..."The guard was a mess, sobbing and begging, darting glances at his downed colleague and Ricardo still sprawled on the floor, fear gripping him anew. No wonder he was Ms. Bri
With that, Liam stepped off. The guard scrambled up, bolting from the security department, not even glancing back at Ricardo and his buddy still sprawled on the floor.The young guard sprinted from the security office to the company's front gate, gasping for air. Glancing back and seeing no sign of Liam, he allowed himself a moment of intense relief.Fumbling for his phone, he dialed Ivar's number with shaking hands.Ivar's icy voice cut through the moment the call connected. "What's up? Is it done?"Swallowing hard, the guard replied, "Mr. Nicoson, we've got trouble. Captain Abaden's out cold. Liam got him, and the rest of us took a beating too...""What!?"Fresh out of the hospital with his arm in a sling, Ivar exploded with fury at the entrance, unleashing a string of curses."You're all useless! Can't handle the simplest task—what do I pay you for? To mess around?"You let one bodyguard take you down? All of you?"Useless, a lot of you! You're done! Don't bother showing up