Thus, Javier sent Marjorie and Sigmund to Xerxes Village. Xerxes Village was no longer a poor and dilapidated place. After all, Javier had invested so much money into the place. Now, all the roads leading out of the mountain had been opened up. Additionally, due to the incident with Edelgard Weiss, many people had started paying attention to this place. The city council was also paying special attention to it. With so much care and attention given to the place, it was safe to say that Xerxes Village had undergone a tremendous change. At the very least, a car could drive straight to the innermost part of the village unscathed. After entrusting Marjorie and Sigmund to the village chief, Thomas Bloom, Javier stayed there for half a day to check out the recent changes in the village. The situation in the village had gotten much better. Although it had only been a few months, the changes in the village were especially apparent. Other than the successful renovation of the dangerous h
A month had passed swiftly since Javier had last spent time with Dana. It was nearly the end of the year now, so it was busy everywhere. People were either preparing for the holidays or spring cleaning, but work continued for office workers. After all, there were still a few days left until the holidays.As an office worker, Javier began getting busy too despite being a boss. He did not need to prepare things for the holidays but he needed to prepare the annual bonus for his company employees.After leaving the office, he drove to the bank. The floor manager, who was dressed decently, welcomed him with a smile.“Hello, sir. What kind of service do you need?”“I’d like a haircut.” Javier flirted upon seeing that the floor manager was quite pretty.The floor manager, whose name was Sally Kearn, froze and asked awkwardly, “Sir, can you repeat yourself? I’m afraid I didn’t catch that.”Javier replied, “Didn’t you ask what I need? I need a haircut. It’s going to be a new year, so I ne
”Robbery! I’m robbing the bank!”As Roy entered the bank, he had a cigarette between his lips and he behaved boisterously in the bank lobby, as though he was in a club.Everyone in the bank was watching him while an old lady who was collecting her pension assumed what he had said to be real and fled in fear.As the floor manager, Sally naturally could not allow this to happen and hurried forward to greet him. “Sir, please watch your words. What you said just now could disrupt the regular peace and order of this bank.”Roy pushed the sunglasses he was wearing down and pushed his face closer to peer up at Sally.“Pretty miss, stop it. I don’t have a gun or a knife. Would you just believe what I say? Okay, I’m stealing your bra then. Take it off for me and let me smell it, okay?”The man was both unreasonable and crude, which both humiliated and exasperated Sally.“Sir, please watch your words. I’ll have to call the police if you continue acting like this. We have surveillance came
Standing up, Sally wiped her wronged tears and fought with reasonable arguments with the vice president.“Why should I apologize to him? What did I do that’s against my employment rules? Point it out and I’ll accept it!“And on what grounds are you accusing me of instigating the public? I haven’t said a word to everyone else all this time, and the surveillance footage can prove it. What evidence do you have to claim that and threaten me with my job?“I know you’re scared that a big client like Roy Benning will run off. Aren’t you? I wasn’t even hoping that a superior like you would seek justice on my behalf. I just wished you’d pull him aside and feel free to curry favor with him however you want.“But what right do you have to ask me to apologize to him and say that I was wrong? Was I wrong?!“If you insist on doing this, I’ll bring this up to the president. If that doesn’t work, I’ll take it to the branch. If that fails, I’ll report it to headquarters. I refuse to believe that t
The vice president suddenly remembered to call security over, which had completely slipped his mind when Sally had kicked him out a moment ago. Both security guards hurriedly rushed over with batons in their hands. However, they seemed to be out of breath after running. Both of them were probably more than 50 years old and were tasked only with guarding the main entrance and directing cars to parking lots, so anything else would be a chore for them.By the time they arrived, Javier slowly and calmly took out his bank card. “Are you really going to apprehend a major client of yours? Do you not show any concern for your bank’s major clients? Are you guys not afraid I might just cease all cooperation with your bank if you offend me?”The vice president was slightly stunned. He had not realized that Javier was actually a major client. ‘Now that I think about it, he did seem to leave the room reserved for major clients.‘But we consider someone to be a major client if they have a f
Javier was very familiar with the procedures the bank used to treat any staff members who made mistakes. They might not reward those who made contributions to the company all the time, but they would most definitely punish those who did something wrong.This was not limited to just the bank’s system, but all other units. Thus, the moment the vice president heard this, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.The reason he had been afraid of offending Roy previously was exactly because he was afraid the higher-ups would end up penalizing him if something were to go wrong. In the end, he’d ended up offending an even bigger client, who caused him to suffer from so much fear that he almost felt his insides burn to cinders.“Sir…Sir, let’s not do this, please. You’ll get me in a lot of trouble.”Javier asked with a serious expression, “What’s it got to do with me, though?”Javier then chuckled and walked back to Sally’s side. He picked up the cup of warm coffee once again. “Are yo
The president had originally thought he could get away with offending neither Roy nor Javier and put an end to that entire situation. After all, if both parties could remain peaceful, he would reap the greatest benefits, which would be splendid. The worst-case scenario for him would be having to remove Javier from the equation rather than offend Millenia Supermarket.However, the president had never expected that Javier would suddenly say that he was going to put 300 million dollars in the bank as a fixed-term fund.Although it was not a fixed deposit, the president would still be able to enjoy a large increase in his sales target if he received these funds.At that moment, Roy said, “Do you think I’m incapable of bluffing? I’ll put 1.5 billion dollars in your bank then! After all, neither of us will be able to fork out the money!”The vice president took Roy’s side. “Exactly! I have the guts to declare such a thing as well in that case! I’ll put in 12 billion dollars!”Javier
The president was now panicking because he was going to be in huge trouble the moment that complaint reached the top of the chain. The connections he had built up all those years ago had only reached the district branch at most. Plus, they were not that strong yet. So, if a complaint was reported directly to headquarters…Next to him, the vice president, who was his trusted right-hand man, was attempting to help the latter ease his worries.“Don’t listen to him, sir! He’s just bluffing! The head president only deals with major clients with billions or trillions of dollars or more. There’s no way he would possibly pay this little sh*t with those meager millions of dollars any mind! Don’t you worry, everything will be alright!”However, the president furiously scowled. “You know nothing!”‘He can fork out 600 million dollars with such ease, so don’t you think it would be extremely simple for him to have billions or even trillions of dollars to his name?!’Without paying the fat vi
As Bernadetta launched a barrage of kicks against the restaurant door, Mrs. Greene summoned 120% of her strength, holding the fort. The older woman had made a living terrorizing others with absurd accusations and downright unreasonable demands, but this time, she had met her match. Bernadetta James put the “man” in the word “woman”—in that she resorted to violence as soon as things escalated. In the end, it took both Mrs. Greene’s apology and a deal to provide Javier and Bernadetta with three days’ meals, all free of charge, to make the young woman stop. Then—“because I actually have a weakness against people sincerely appealing to my better angels,” according to Bernadetta—she amended the peace offer, changing the three days’ free meals to…a week’s worth. Back in the inn, Javier expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Bernadetta for rescuing him. “I can’t thank you enough for standing by my side when I needed it the most, Bern. But I can thank you a bit more if you refrain from using t
Mrs. Greene opened her flap and unlocked the floodgate, the spit during her tirade so profusive that she could water an old lady’s lawn. “It’s him, officers! It’s all him! He did this to his own camera just to remove himself as a suspect, but we know better than that! He’s the guy who stole my goddamn lingerie!”She turned and trained her finger on Javier. “You vile, disgusting, degenerate piece of sh*t! Ptooey!”‘Back at you! I'd rather spend the night with my left hand than with you!’ By this point in the morning, Bernadetta had arrived at work. Her heels clicked onto the floor as she sauntered toward the commotion. As soon as she heard what had transpired, she laughed, looking clearly amused. She trained her perfectly manicured finger on Javier and piled on. “Oh, it was him. I can testify to that! He stole Mrs. Greene’s bra because he is…the Lingerie Phantom Thief! By day, he is Javier Kersey. At night, he is Jo Ker, the Bra Stealer!” Javier threw his arms up in exasperation
Javier shook his head. By the time his vision was back to normal, the dog was gone. It had escaped! “What kind of hell spawned this little sh*t?!” Javier wondered to himself aloud. “Was this really an effect of the world changing? Is this an example of mutation because of the Storm? Or is there something else at play?”Baffled and unsure what to think, Javier returned to the dorm and told the residents to open the door. Inside, he found Florence huddling the frightened kids closely. She was white from fear, and yet in the presence of vulnerable kids, she had assumed the role of the protector without a second thought. “Hush, it’s alright! It was fake. Someone pulled a terrible prank and put on this white sheet and…” Javier made up a fib to explain the haunting away exactly because the truth could land him in a mental institution. No one would believe him—and for good reason too!Javier drove Florence back to the Yuzuian restaurant, where the latter’s electric scooter was. While
A resentful wail—interspersed only by sobs that sounded more like someone was being strangled—was echoing in the middle of the night while Javier and Florence could not see even a single soul out there? Animated by the power of “hell, naw!”, Florence dove into Javier’s arms for protection. Her hands were clasped firmly on either side of her head, hoping to block out the ghastly demand in her ears. Her eyes were squeezed so tightly shut that even a crowbar could not pry them open.Javier himself was just as terrified. He would have felt better if he could see the source of the voice rather than just hear a woman sobbing about getting her head back. At least he would know what he was up against! But just hearing it without any visuals at all?! Nooooope!Then, Florence hugged him in a “help-me!” sort of way. She was soft and supple—damn, that sexy figure in combination with her silky-smooth skin sure was welcoming. She was warm, and damn did she smell good! Nothing competed with fea
The dog barked in protest as it pointed its paw at Javier with the intensity of a mob before executing a monarch. The flames in its eyes were so bright that they could incinerate Javier into ashes in milliseconds. In the end, though, all that protest was for naught. Constance tied it up in the parking garage, while Javier watched in glee. Ah, sweet, sweet revenge! The stupid dog had thought it could set him up, had it? That would teach it!The look the Pomeranian shot him almost felt like a threat: ‘Just you f*cking wait, hooman!’‘Wait for what? How much can a stupid b*tch like you do to me?’ Javier scoffed in his mind. Now that the four-legged pest was gone, Javier turned back to Constance and talked about the new orphanage. As it turned out, despite the old woman’s sentiments for the building she had founded, she was a lot less obstinate and unreasonable as she might appear. “I mean, I don’t object to it completely. I know the new place is gonna be better, but…” She faltered a
Florence called half an hour later to tell him where they’d be having dinner. After leaving the inn in Bernadetta’s care, he hurried to the venue. Florence had picked a newly-opened Yuzuian restaurant. Javier had never liked Yuzuian restaurants, but since Florence had invited him, courtesy stopped him from asking the woman to change their meeting venue. He found Florence quickly enough and sat across from her. They placed their orders, and Javier began his performance: He started sighing and doing his best to look forlorn. It intrigued Florence enough to ask what was wrong, and Javier told her about his unfortunate beef with Constance that day.“It’s so unfair, man! Why would I bully a dog for no reason?” he moaned. “I’m sure Aunt Constance misunderstood. You’re a knightly, heroic, kind man! How could someone like you possibly get off on hurting a dog? I’m sure Aunt Constance was just too worried about the dog’s welfare to think things through. She didn’t mean it. I can vouch for
Herschel was dressed quite sharply today. It was the full ensemble—black leather shoes, black slacks, a white collar, and last but not least, the good old oil-slicked hair. The typical look of a high-ranking office worker, just as Javier had requested. Ordering him to get in his car, Javier asked, “You brought all the stuff I told you to?”“Yo, I would never forget the stuff my boss told me to bring. I’ve got all the preparations down pat. You can check ‘em if you don’t trust me,” Herschel replied. He fished an ID and some documents out of his leather bag. “See? All the documentation a journalist in the most important room of a news agency would have.”After a round-check and some instructions, Javier sent Herschel on his way to complete his mission. The man was strangely reluctant, though. “Boss, you told me you decided to work in that inn, right? Does that mean, you know, that you’re gonna call me ‘boss’ while you’re there?”Javier had almost forgotten he had mentioned this. It
Javier’s suspicion turned to Constance Hellman’s white Pomeranian. He turned to the director’s office and met the dog’s eyes. With its paws on the windowsill, it hoisted itself up to look out of the window. Seeing the dog cracking a lopsided grin and baring its fangs—beaming as smugly as a teacher’s pet who had managed to subdue everyone through the power of being the boss’s favorite—made it look both amusing and chilling. It would have been had the dog not caught Javier’s gaze, suddenly dropped the smile, and put on a face that seemed to be saying, ‘I’m just your average dog! Nothing to see here!’And then it feigned—yes, feigned—a yawn as its one last measure to cover up the fact that it had been laughing smugly to itself. ‘What. The. Actual. F*ck?!’ Javier thundered in his mind. ‘B*tch’s a natural actress! What’s it doing here instead of being interviewed on a talk show after becoming viral on TikTok?’In combination with Russell’s report, the incident inside the director’s of
As Javier was befuddled, Constance rushed in from outside and picked up the white Pomeranian gingerly to carefully check its injured leg.“Oh, baby, what’s the matter? Did you hurt your leg?”The white Pomeranian whined in pain and began twitching upon hearing Constance’s concerned question. This upset Constance so much that she admonished him sternly. “Mr. Kersey, I thought that you were a loving person, but I can’t help doubting your motive now.“I’m skeptical about you taking good care of the kids here when you’d even hit a cute dog!”Javier felt extremely offended. When had he hit the dog? He hurriedly explained, “Madam Hellman, I didn’t do anything!”Constance asked angrily, “You didn’t do anything? Why would it suddenly limp now and whine so pathetically? Why did it hurry over to me? Give me a reasonable explanation!”Javier was in distress as well. “How would I know? It was fine when I was carrying it just now, but it wanted to get down on the floor, so I carefully placed