Javier knew he was doomed the moment his eyes caught the outline of the muzzle.He had managed to snipe a glance at his right previously and noticed a three-year-old toddler sitting parallel to him. In other words, even if Javier was perfectly capable of dodging the shot—which he was—someone would still end up dead. The pauper’s shot would be enough to kill the toddler.Javier did not know who the kid was, but it did not matter. Right now, in a split second, he balked at any attempt to dodge. He would not be able to live with himself if a three-year-old died because he wanted to live.He decided to change position and assumed another angle. From the perspective of a casual observer, it looked like he was shifting his weight very quickly. His final position was one that allowed his most vital spots to be shielded away from the attacker’s trajectory so that he would not be killed by one fatal shot.The pauper, though, did not look deterred. In fact, it almost seemed like he’d be happ
Herschel stepped on the pedal of his van. The car sped through the asphalt until it finally stopped outside an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of town.He disembarked, meeting two of his underlings who had been standing by. They proved to be people Javier knew marginally—“Running Man” and “Gran Turismo Racer”—both of whom Javier had the pleasure of meeting this morning.After greeting Javier in the most respectful manner, the two of them hauled the fake pauper into the warehouse while Javier stayed outside, lighting another cigarette and chatting idly with Herschel.Ten or more minutes passed. Running Man emerged from the warehouse with a newly-extracted name.Harold Dunn.Javier remembered Harold. He was that rascal he had given a little “physical education” when they had met. It was intended to be a deterrent and a small punishment for his impudence; a painful lesson that nonetheless required about a hundred days of rest and physiotherapy to recover. Who could have known Ha
Javier spent two days at Saoirse’s place. At no point did the lady herself consent to him doing so, but Javier was nothing if not shameless and boorish. In the end, she had no choice but to resign herself to her fate.Fortunately for her, despite any electrifying sparks between them, nothing out-of-line ever happened. The lack of “accidents” was what helped Saoirse relent.On the third day at noon, Javier went to see Chad, who had flown all the way to Medb. With him taking over the leadership position, Reivaj Media was successfully founded without a hitch. The fact that he had helped find the director, scriptwriter, actors, and actresses had relieved Chad from a lot of trouble.With Chad in tow, Javier went directly to see Mr. Gander. The director might have become chummy with him, but a contract had to be signed anyway.No sooner had he entered the room than Mr. Gander leaped out to hold Javier’s hands for an excited shake. He would not let him go. His eyes were misty.Chad was r
Chad could not believe just how much influence a famous director could possess.Mr. Gander brought him to meet a young rising star who, by chance, was in Medb for a scheduled program. The star was just a little haughty when he first saw Chad, but as soon as Mr. Gander was in the room, he changed. His face was oozing with respect.It was easy to tell why. An actor’s job was to act, but if they had the fortune to be recommended or offered a role by an acclaimed director, that alone spoke volumes about their acting track record. They would earn bragging rights and tell the world that their talent and skill had been acknowledged too.It was why the young star had been so excited upon hearing about signing a contract with Reivaj Media, which would be working with Mr. Gander to produce an Osborn-worthy movie. His attitude toward Chad underwent a one-eighty as he enthusiastically brought up his contract nearing its end.The young man thought that, should he join Reivaj Media, he would bec
Since beating up Gigi in the nightclub on that fateful night, Javier had decided to never cross paths with her ever again. Of course, he’d had to break that promise to himself when Running Man and Gran Turismo Racer had tailed him, as he had met the young woman by happenstance and borrowed her Maserati.Even then, Javier had had no intention of meeting Gigi ever again. That was why when she’d asked him for his contact details, he had declined without any hesitation. A woman who did not even have stark feminine features would make him lose interest immediately. Besides, the way Gigi had carried herself the first time he had met her had all but ensured she would never feel him up.Nevertheless, Javier got to his feet and looked over the fence before casting his eyes down on the dance floor. There, raving with her hair wildly swinging and thrashing in the middle of the crowd, was Gigi Snowden, who appeared strangely possessed.She was feral, and her figure-hugging t-shirt had already b
Javier let Jean-Eric go without teaching him a lesson. After all, he did not need to.Those trust fund kids Jean-Eric had conned would rise to the occasion nicely. Oh, they would give him the lesson of his life, alright.Gigi managed to recover from her one-punch knockout too. Seeing Javier immediately made her feel panic mixed with an undercurrent of embarrassment, and suddenly, she was not sure how to act at all. She had only said yes to Jean-Eric’s offer to take the pink pill “to chill” because of the mounting pressure she had been feeling in her life lately.“I didn’t know it was a hard drug…Honest! I was just…I just really needed to relax. I didn’t mean to—”Javier waved and cut her explanation short. Not interested, and not necessary. “Even if you knew it was a hard drug and took it anyway, it wouldn’t bother me. You can die for all I care. All I’m asking is that you don’t die in my bar. That would be the nicest thing you could do for me.”Gigi felt even more embarrassed a
Javier’s phone never did ring. He thought Saoirse would call, but she never did.Of course, he was not so hubristic as to think he was an omnipotent god who could control what everyone thought. When he realized he had predicted her behavior wrong, he shrugged it off and stayed in a hotel nearby.He took a shower, read the script again, and went to sleep.Meanwhile, Saoirse was rolling in her bed, feeling distressed. She forgot how many times she picked up her phone and put it back down. She never mustered enough courage to go through with it and call him.The next day at noon, Javier woke up. After washing up, he called Mr. Gander, thinking he could send his script over to the man if he were at home. To his surprise, the director was staying in a hotel instead.Javier went to the address and found the hotel. Mr. Gander was resting in bed, his housekeeper standing by to serve him. “What happened, Mr. Gander? Why are you here?”Javier wondered if the older man had realized Javier h
The car zipped through the asphalt, the driver and passenger occasionally engaging in light, but no less sensual, teasing. Nothing serious came out of it, though—certainly not any passionate grinding.The drive from Medb to Ferris Sky was not a long one, but locating Cillian’s house took a lot more time than one would expect. Before standing before his entrance, Javier could not believe why a renowned artistic virtuoso like Cillian Nolan would live in that modest neighborhood built about a decade ago. It was such a run-of-the-mill place that there was virtually nothing too different from a normal person’s residence.When they had to stop and ask a few senior citizens hanging out at the lobby to double-confirm Cillian’s address, the crowd answered in a tone not unlike that of a person talking about their common neighbor.As Javier climbed the stairs with Dana, he could not resist asking, “Mr. Nolan has earned quite the fortune…right?”Dana thought for a moment. “Well, he’s doing pre