Zack had already figured it out. It was his reality that he would never get his hands on Jade, so he might as well ruin her and cling to Kendrick. After all, a man had to want something. Since he was unable to lust after the woman, he would lust after the money!His intentional sabotage made Parker, who had just picked up his wine glass, drop his glass back on the table with a thud.“What’s the matter with Beacon Tires? How could you be this despicable? Quality is how you gain a standing in the business world. What are you guys trying to do?“Tires, especially. They’re so very crucial to vehicle safety. How many drivers would meet harm on the road and even lose their lives because of the problematic tires you made, have you ever thought about that?!”Parker went on to fire off a tirade at Jade as Zack occasionally added a comment here and there, to fuel the fire and make the flames burn even brighter. Jade tried to explain herself several times but was unable to interrupt Parker’s
Everyone in the banquet hall, including Parker, shifted their gaze onto Zack. Zack was both anxious and mortified. Just half a minute ago, he was slamming the table in indignation, claiming that they should haul the slanderer out and take turns to slap him. Half a minute later, his face was appearing on the surveillance camera recording, acting chummy with the three individuals who had complained about Beacon Tires’ product quality.Karma came so fast that he suffered a whiplash.Feeling on pins and needles, Zack looked around as he felt his face flush. The next moment, however, he growled at Javier with a fierce expression, “What is the meaning of this? This can’t be treated as evidence at all!”Javier seemed indifferent as he replied, “Yeah, I didn’t say that it was proof. But why are you panicking over it?”“I-I…” Zack stammered, at a loss for words. He wanted to deny everything, say that he was not the culprit, but the truth had been laid bare.Comment by Sue Yi Chuah: person
Zack had been paying attention to Jade since Parker first mentioned the bidding. He knew nothing about ancient paintings but the patriarch of the Odells at the Odello Corporation was known for loving old paintings and calligraphy. Kendrick had mentioned during their chats that Jade had a certain level of understanding for such art pieces as she had spent a lot of time with the old man during her younger years.That was why Zack kept his eyes on Jade, wanting to judge from her reaction if the replica of Along the River was valuable or not. He assumed that it was not worth much when Jade had only made bids in small increments. He was even more convinced when she finally kept quiet.However, when Javier called out 150 thousand dollars, Zack recalled the assumption. He felt that it was a tactic that Jade was trying to pull. Everyone knew that the Odell patriarch liked ancient paintings so she must have made Javier do the bidding instead, calling out 150 thousand dollars directly to stun
Between money and dignity, there was no right choice. To all the businesspeople present tonight, money mattered as true businesspeople were always after profits.Despite this, Zack was not a real businessman. To Javier, he was merely an idiot who was slightly better off in life.And reality did not let Javier down either. Zack actually made an idiotic decision and accepted Parker’s calligraphy with tears in his eyes.Parker himself was very moved when he saw that Zack was close to tears and embraced the younger man. “You’re a good kid. It’s okay to make mistakes. You’re still a good kid if you realize your mistake and correct it. You’ve done a good job tonight and I’ll help you spread your kindness.”Zack actually cried but it was not tears of remorse; it was because of the ache in his heart over the money he had lost! No matter how much it pained him, however, it did not stop him from maintaining his image. Wiping his tears away, he raised Parker’s calligraphy high up. “What’s t
Beacon Tires’ workshop had caught fire.By the time Javier got there, Jade, with her disheveled hair haphazardly gathered into a ponytail at the back of her head, was already there.According to the woman, it was fortunate that an employee had caught the fire early which resulted in less loss or casualties. Only some small parts and semi-completed items had been burned. The rough estimation loss was around 15 thousand dollars.Against the threat of a fire, this loss could almost be dismissed, but they had to find out the cause of the incident. After checking the surveillance footage of the workshop, they found out why the place had caught on fire—about a half hour ago, a burglar had sneaked into the tool storeroom at the back of the workshop and had used a lighter to light up his surroundings. Due to the prolonged burning time, the lighter burned through its own plastic casing and this caused the burglar to throw the lighter onto the floor in a panic. Coincidentally, there were to
Zack did pay but instead of eight thousand dollars, he had only paid four thousand. The money that went through Terry would naturally not be audited, so the man had of course kept some for himself and the amount ultimately became 1.5 thousand dollars.The burglar had kept an eye out and saw that the fire had not done much damage and the police were not called, so he happily squandered the 1.5 thousand dollars. But before he could spend most of it, he was caught by the bounty hunter.Terry, who was hiding in the washroom to call Zack for help, was dragged out by the police and hauled away.The next morning, as the person who lodged the report, Javier went to the criminal investigation bureau. Upon arriving, he saw Zack being brought to the interrogation room by an officer. The officer in charge informed him that Terry had admitted that Zack was the one who instructed him to do it.Despite that being the truth, Zack had kept a backup plan. He paid using only cash and the two had only
Zack was stunned speechless at Kendrick’s retort. It took him a while before he regained his senses. He sobbed and yelled like a wronged housewife, “You can’t do this to me, Kendrick!” However, Kendrick had already hung up the phone call. Zack hurriedly tried to redial but was greeted with a voicemail, saying that Kendrick had already turned off his cell phone. Zack suddenly understood what Terry had felt before. All of the tricks and schemes that he had used on the latter, using him as a scapegoat and discarding him the moment he had lost his purpose. Kendrick had just done the very same thing to Zack.Meanwhile, Zack’s father became extremely furious when he saw how dejected Zack looked. “I must’ve been blind to think that I could place my hopes on you. I should’ve known that you’re just an incompetent fool who will never amount to anything!” As much as Zack felt aggrieved and unhappy, there was nothing he could do when he was scolded by his father. Fortunately, Zack’s f
By the time his father and Javier arrived at the scene, Zack had already been apprehended by police who were patrolling the area. Zack’s father almost fainted when he saw Kendrick, lying on the ground in a pool of blood. The only thought that ran through his mind at the time was that his son had killed someone out of revenge. Fortunately, when the ambulance arrived, upon examination, the paramedics declared that Kendrick was merely severely wounded and unconscious. The pool of blood that Kendrick was lying in was his Labrador’s, his so-called “dear boy”, which had been rammed over. Thus, Zack was taken away in a police car while Kendrick was taken away in an ambulance. Meanwhile, the Labrador’s corpse and the beautiful woman that Kendrick had been with were both taken away as well since they were evidence and witness to the crime. After photos of the crime scene had been taken, the management of the building nearby very quickly cleaned up the mess. Javier had not expected such
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