At Javier’s question, pin-drop silence fell over the party.Dick stood before him, his eyes emanating a look full of scorn. “What’s wrong? Do you not like what I said? Are you going to hit me just like you did all those years ago? Come on then!“If you dare touch a single hair of mine, I’ll send people to hound you and make sure that you end up dead! Go ahead! Try me if you dare!!!”Despite how arrogant Dick was at that moment, he did not dare do the same to others of their group because most of them came from wealthy families with decent careers and a certain amount of influence behind the scenes. However, he thought that Javier was just a useless piece of trash that he could mock over and over again without any fear of backlash! Right at that moment, someone suddenly crashed the party! A clean-looking, handsome man rushed in with a fresh bouquet in his hands. “Hello, my dear female schoolmates! It’s me…Zayn Dunham!”Zayn was one of Javier’s schoolmates and the biggest dra
On the way back, Javier questioned Jade about her prior actions and the reason she’d called him “honey.”Jade then explained, “You’re the one who sent me a text saying that you were having a reunion with your former schoolmates here and would be back home late tonight. That’s why I came over. “I thought that reunions usually involve people criticizing one another. Also, I know that you’re a man who prefers to keep a low profile, so I was sure that you would be one of those being criticized. Considering how much you’ve helped me in the past, I thought I’d come over and make you look good!”After saying that, Jade turned to look at Javier with a smile. “Hurry up and thank me!”Feeling flabbergasted, Javier chuckled and said, “Thank you.”“You’re welcome!”‘She’s really pretty when she smiles. I can feel my heartstrings being pulled whenever I see her like this…’Javier thought that this matter would end now that the reunion was over and nobody would bug him anymore. Alas, that
Javier was surprised by Zayn’s sudden appearance but did not think too much about it. In his eyes, Zack, Kendrick, even Zayn, made no difference to him. All three of them were like insects and vermin in the face of a giant elephant—they would all be squashed in the end. After hurling the luggage out of his window, Javier carried on working without any emotions going through his mind. However, half an hour later, someone arrived at the office once more. This time, the person in question was not there for Javier, but for Jade. The newcomer glided across the shiny floor tiles, her high-heeled shoes making loud tapping noises as she rushed into Jade’s office. Not even Jade’s secretary could stop the woman. When Jade’s office doors swung open, the secretary hurriedly tried to explain the situation to Jade. However, the woman stormed forward and landed a tight slap on Jade’s face, leaving the secretary stunned. Jade rubbed her burning cheek and told her secretary, “Leave us and c
Zayn’s face turned ashen when he saw the 180 in the netizens’ discussions. As his hands shook, he made a call. “I want the internet to be wiped clean! Now! I don’t care how much it costs! I want all the information about me deleted! I’ve already f*cking said, everything needs to go! Including my confession this morning! All of it!!!”After hanging up, Zayn upended the table in front of him, sending all the plates crashing to the floor. “Who was it? Who was it?! Who leaked that information about me on the internet?! That f*cking b*stard!!!”Zayn’s rage went on for more than ten minutes before he finally calmed down. He sat down and fumed some more, muttering to himself under his breath for another five more. He then pulled out his cell phone and gave Matthew a call, still muttering to himself. “I can’t let this happen. I must make Jade see that my feelings toward her are genuine! I must make her feel that and not let this negative information affect her…”When the others return
Zayn made two more calls after that, but Jade spurned all of them. She was just about to shut her phone off to keep him away when she saw a new message from the man. His words seemed to be dripping with concern.‘Reject me all you want, but do you really want to see your grandpa’s life’s work ruined at the hands of incompetence personified?’It was a hit below the belt that plunged itself deep into Jade’s chest, right where it hurt the most.She had grown up with Grandpa since she was just a child, so the depth of their emotional bond could not be underestimated. It hurt her to see Odello Corp., the very thing her grandfather had devoted his soul to, be torn down to ruins at the hands of her useless uncle.That was why she had to do it. She had to become the leader of Drakon Real Estate.“—which doesn’t change a thing! Just because I’ve assumed leadership, it doesn’t mean I’m beholden to him. If he thinks he can make me marry him, well, he’s got a better chance of dreaming about i
Matthew had no idea what kind of thoughts were swimming inside Herschel’s head, and neither did Jade. The only one who did, of course, was Javier, and he was naturally not going to let him commit murder. Matthew was just too pathetic and was such a small fry that killing him would attract way too much fame and attention than the maggot really deserved.He shot Herschel a glance, and the man immediately bent to pick up a wooden stick before returning to his car, acting as though he was just trying to find the perfect tool to scratch out the little pebbles lodged in the car tires. This effectively removed all the attention from him, and Matthew returned to the previous topic straight away.“Sorry but not sorry, bud. Odello Corp. doesn’t make a habit of letting outsiders in for no reason. Get off the property.”“But he’s not an outsider. He’s the driver I just hired,” Jade rebutted. “The driver Drakon Real Estate had arranged for me doesn’t give me a sense of security so I hired my own
Javier drove Jade to Sky Loft’s local branch office in the afternoon. Standing before its main entrance, Jade took a deep breath, braced herself for inevitable failure, and stepped inside like a soldier given an insurmountable mission.She hardly had the chance to introduce herself as Drakon Real Estate’s boss, yet Sky Loft instantly treated her arrival with utmost warmth and hospitality. “Welcome, Ms. Odell! Good to have you here! Our GM just arrived and is attending to some of our projects at the moment, so please make yourself comfortable. The executive meeting will be over shortly. Until then, have some coffee or tea!”Jade thanked the friendly employee and dropped down on the couch to wait. Ten minutes later, she saw Sky Loft’s general manager hurrying toward her and greeting her. “Ms. Odell, right? Pleased to make your acquaintance! I’m the general manager of Sky Loft, Will Schumer. Welcome!”Jade was caught off-guard by how effusive he was. More than that, she found it curiou
Matthew and Neve had mistaken the paper in Jade’s hands for the notice from the board of directors the latter had passed to Jade earlier this morning. To them, the fact that it was an A4-size paper as well had made it impossible to guess its contents.Jade’s retort, however, smothered their laughter instantaneously. Startled, Neve snapped out of her shock and said curiously, “No way. That can’t be…dare I say it? It’s…your resignation, right?!”Then, an ear-splitting guffaw of even greater intensity filled the room. It was shrill enough that even those outside of Matthew’s office could hear it.Jade considered the chortling duo impassively. God knows which one of them was more insane than the other. She marched ahead, closing the distance between her and Matthew before shoving the agreement into his chest.“Read it yourself. Get your daughter to use a dictionary if some of the words are too complicated for you two,” she rasped. “Morons.”She turned on her heel and stormed out of th
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