Chapter 11 Not a Very Deep Ocean

After Zack had finished gloating, he glanced at Jade in hopes of seeing an impressed or admiring gaze. Unfortunately for him, Jade’s head was turned toward the window and she was paying him no mind.

Zack decided to speak up some more and attract the woman’s attention.

“60 thousand dollars isn’t much to me actually. This sum is like a drop—”

“Another 30 thousand dollars,” Javier cut in and told the server, not even giving Zack even an inch of opportunity to brag.

The words “in the ocean” died in Zack’s throat as a bewildered look overcame him. Again? Where had the man got another 30 thousand dollars from?

Zack's head snapped in Terry’s direction with a questioning gaze. The latter was on pins and needles. He had no idea either! He heard from Selena that Javier was close to being penniless yet the man was somehow pulling out 30 thousand dollars left and right…

With a loud clap, Terry thought that he had figured out where the money had come from and whispered into Zack’s ear, “Mr. Dilley, I saw him being intimate with a woman this morning. He claimed that she’s his younger sister but now thinking back, he’s most likely her toy boy.

“Being a gigolo doesn’t bring that much, 60 thousand dollars should be the limit. I’m sure this is Javier’s last run!”

Fueled by the boat he had made in front of Jade and bolstered by Terry’s confident guarantee, Zack allowed his bank card to be swiped once more. His Audi would just have to become a Suzuki, that was fine.

“Okay, okay. Another 60 thousand dollars then. Your dawdling is really boring to me. 30 thousand dollars once, 30 thousand dollars twice...with the way you’re going about this, God knows how long will it be before you finish all the money on my card.”

Look at him shooting his mouth off! It was as if Zack had billions in his bank card.

Javier did not care to give him a reply. Once Zack had swiped another 60 thousand dollars on the payment terminal machine, lazily and languidly, he pushed the man’s button again.

“Here, another 30 thousand dollars.”

“You’re reloading again?!”

Zack exploded instantly and he turned to stare at Terry, his eyes shooting daggers at the cowering man. Terry felt wronged. He thought that his guess had been rather accurate. Who knew how Javier could afford another 30 thousand dollars?

Suddenly, a possibility struck him and he told Zack softly, “Go on. I think he’s bluffing this time.”

Realizing the same thing, Zack urged the server to charge Javier’s card.

But the reality was that…no one was bluffing here.

The machine beeped as it coughed out yet another receipt. When the third receipt from Javier was placed on the table, Zack was stunned. The charged amount was printed on the three receipts, clear as day: 30 thousand dollars each.

Zack only had two receipts with him, 60 thousand dollars each. He wanted to produce a third one as well, but he had no more money! He had only managed to squeeze his old man for 150 thousand dollars. Even if he added on whatever he could scrape together by himself, he could not possibly produce a third receipt which required another 60 thousand dollars.

Javier finally spoke up, “Mr. Dilley, it hasn’t been very long yet. Is it possible that you’ve spent all the money on your card already?”

The jab to his sore spot enraged Zack. “Bullsh*t! All I have is money, more than you could ever see in your life. This sum is just a drop in the ocean for me!”

Javier knocked on the payment terminal machine placed on the table. “I won’t argue with you. Pay up if you have the money, shut up if you don’t.”

Zack was infuriated. He had never been this insulted in his entire life but he did not know what else he could do. The remaining balance in his card stopped him from taking this farce any further. He turned to look at Terry, gesturing at the man via a hooked finger behind his back. He was asking for Terry to foot the next 60 thousand.

While Terry had some money saved throughout the years, he had recently bought a house and a car and was not very liquid at the moment…

“Ha!”

After half a minute of silence, Javier scoffed at Zack and turned toward Jade, turning his back on Zack.

“Ms. Odell, please excuse me. I still have some things to attend to. Please collect the reloaded card on my behalf. You may keep it for company use.

“Oh yeah, and don’t pay for today’s lunch. I’m not about to steal the limelight from Mr. Hamer.”

Javier would much rather grab a cheap burger from a fast-food chain restaurant than sit down to lunch with Terry and Zack. A drop in the ocean? That was not many drops at all! Three times and the ocean was already emptied. It was total bullsh*t!

Zack only yelled in retaliation when he saw Javier turn the corner at the end of the walkway, “Don’t leave if you dare! I have the money. Let’s swipe our cards again! I’ll suffocate you with all my money, you piece of trash!”

The hotel server reminded him with a smile, “Sir, Mr. Kersey has left but if you need to speak to him, I can inform the lobby and have the front desk relay your message to him.”

Well, this was awkward. Zack was only yelling to salvage whatever was left of his pride. He had not expected the server to be so naive. On top of that, the server was not just saying it. She picked up the walkie-talkie pinned to the back of her hips and brought it up to her lips.

“Lobby, lobby, we’re—”

“Hey! Hey, there’s no need. No need to relay anything.”

Zack quickly stopped the server and turned to Jade with a shameless grin. “He’s your worker after all. I ought to save you some face!”

Jade nodded with a courteous smile. “Thank you, Mr. Dilley. I have something to attend to as well, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”

The moment Jade turned to leave, the smile on her face vanished and was replaced by a look of complete disdain. How much money a person had never mattered to Jade, but people who loved to bluff and exaggerate about the depths of their pockets put her off her appetite. This sole reason alone was enough for Jade to never give Zack a chance!

After Jade left, Terry tried to excuse himself as well but Zack was not letting him off the hook so easily. Instead, Zack dismissed the server and closed the door to their room. Zack then grabbed a chair and stalked over to Terry.

“Terry Hamer, good job there putting me on the spot and telling me that Kersey only has 60 thousand dollars. Wonderful job!”

Terry inched his way into the corner and finally stammered out an explanation when he had nowhere left to go.

“Mr. Dilley, Mr. Dilley, listen. I really saw him this morning—

“Ah! Don’t hit me, no! Ow!”

After lunch, Jade called for a management meeting at work to announce Javier's promotion to the position of vice general manager.

Those in attendance were Jade, Javier, the HR manager, the heads of the various departments, and the finance director, Terry. The man’s head had been wrapped up. The bandages covered over his right eye, while his exposed left eye was bruised and swollen.

After Jade made the announcement, the others clapped in congratulations for Javier’s promotion. The applause was deafening despite the unknown extent of sincerity. Terry was the only one who did not even lift a finger. His exposed and swollen eye dripped with resentment.

If it had not been for Javier, Zack would not have beaten him up so violently. That man had broken three, solid wooden chairs in the process. And the most infuriating part? As he was gingerly stepping up into the ambulance that had come to pick him up, the hotel staff had gone after him and requested that he settle the bill first!

After a few more communal announcements, Jade was about to signal for the end of the meeting when Terry suddenly stood up and boomed, “Ms. Odell, I want to request a raise!”

He then went on to list his contributions to the company over the years, talking about how hard he worked, offering his current state of insisting to stay on and work despite having his head bandaged as proof. He whined and tried his best to garner the pity of his audience. Finally, he threw out an ultimatum. If he was not given a raise, he would resign.

As the company was in need of workers at the moment, Jade had to accept the man’s threat despite how irritated she felt. She reluctantly agreed to Terry’s request. Terry still was not satisfied. He pushed further and requested remunerations that matched the vice general manager’s.

Jade was ticked off. She slowly scanned the rest of the people in the meeting room. “What do the rest of you think?”

No one dared to meet her eyes as she swept her gaze across the room. They either stared at the ceiling or under the table. Some even covered their eyes with their hands. It seemed that everyone wanted a boost in their salary and payment package, given the chance.

This made Jade’s blood boil. There was an entire room of people but no one was taking her side.

“I disagree!”

As disappointment and even despair filled her, Javier spoke up. It felt like a torch in the dark.