Javier fondled her, sating his hunger with the warmth of that body. It was at that moment that the room was suddenly lit up.He instinctively turned to the source of the light and froze.A bathrobe-clad Jade was standing by the bathroom door.But if Jade was standing over there…Then who the hell was wearing Jade’s nightgown and lying right here?!He turned back to the bed, feeling taken aback.M-Maya White? No, a flustered Maya White with her hands all over her cheeks! It was palpable how beet-red the young woman’s erstwhile, fair neck had turned!Javier panicked. “Oh my god! How the hell did you get here?”His panic was not unfounded. He had been enjoying himself because he had thought it was Jade. But now that the lights were on, he realized he had been fondling Maya this whole time. It would have not been a problem at all, except Jade had turned on the light.In other words, Javier had walked into Jade’s room and felt another woman up right in front of her face. This could
Fortunately, despite any suspicions Renly might have, he did not act on them. Javier and Jade boarded safely, and the plane took off. As it soared into the clouds, far from the ground, Jade murmured, “If May-May ever recovered from her intellectual regression, I…don’t think I would know how to face her again!”Javier, though, thought his anxiety was overblown. By the time Maya recovered, all they’d need to do was make their little game an actual “sport”—Of course, of course! That was the kind of thing a man could think about and dream about doing in the future but was definitely not meant to say it aloud right now. So, Javier sealed his lips, ensuring that he was not going to join this conversation.Thankfully, Jade herself found the topic too awkward to continue, so she abandoned it.The plane they were boarding was the Whites’ modest private jet, so it was unauthorized to fly internationally. Since the Kerseys’ large private jet had been destroyed in the explosion, the two had t
The surveillance camera in the cabin, along with the other passengers’ smartphones, had saved a digital record of Benedict’s harassment. It was natural that he’d end up being removed from the plane, first by the steward and then by the airport police.His punishment was probably going to be light. Good, cooperative behavior could earn him a reprimand and little else. Even if he continued to be violent, the worst he could suffer was probably detainment. Nonetheless, one thing was certain: Benedict was not going back into the plane. His ticket had gone to waste.Javier watched Benedict get hauled away with schadenfreude. For a man in his forties, his opponent had been ridiculously easy to trigger—almost as if he had the meltdown point of a ten-year-old. One had to wonder if age really conferred wisdom!And to think he was the same guy who had claimed he could make Javier crawl out of the airport. Ha! Fat chance!No longer sparing that man a thought, Javier turned to Jade and said, “I
When it came to Jade, Javier was the least suspicious. She would never do anything that could hurt him.He fixed a piercing stare on Herschel’s eyes, his gaze strong enough to rattle the man.“Look, Boss, I don’t mean this is a scandal, okay? I’m just telling it as it is. We don’t know what they talked about or who that guy is. My underling’s still investigating him.” He defended himself. “But one thing’s for sure—it ain’t a normal client.”Jade would never be unfaithful to him. And yet, Herschel would never make up a lie either.Interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Who could this secret man be, then?Sam’s car appeared, stopping Herschel from dwelling on the subject. He made up an excuse about needing to park their SUV and left.Javier flicked some ashes off the burning end of his cigarette and feigned nonchalance while studying Sam, who was getting out of his car. “What’s the matter now? Got another reason to talk to me?”Sam stammered with a copious amount of ums and ahs, a
Knowing he had set the young woman’s cheeks aflame, Javier felt her hand wriggling against his hold as it tried to break free. He did nothing to stop it, so her hand easily slipped out of his grip.“What a waste,” he remarked aloud. “Your golden ticket to pleasure you’ve never felt before was right there between your fingers! But you just had to let it go. Sorry for your loss, beautiful.”The young woman pointedly turned her head away, and her falling, disheveled hair hurriedly covered her gorgeous features. Half a minute later, she finally broke her silence. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me, sir, but my boss has been waiting for you for a while now. Please see him right away!”Well, that was an indirect but resounding no. She had basically told Javier that her gate was closed and she was not spreading it wide for him.Fine by him. Not everyone was capable of recognizing a chance and seizing it, right?Javier collected himself and climbed the stairs with big strides, hi
It was clear as day. Clark was a piece of sh*t, the most useless kind, at that. He was so useless he was the kind of tick who did not even know the name of the host he was leeching. He was a brainless parasite and deserved nothing more than to be ejected like one.Javier ignored Clark completely and yanked the door open before descending the stairs.Clark had to wriggle his rotund meatball of a body to keep up on Javier’s tail while putting on his best apologetic smiles. “Don’t leave so soon, Mr. Kersey! Please, have dinner with me! I know a spectacular place around here. The food is really good. I’ll treat you!”He was now using his business daddy’s money to “treat” his daddy to a meal. Clark was the epitome of a deadbeat, deadweight son!Javier ignored Clark even more and marched into his car.The reception lady was startled by what she was seeing. When would the arrogant, self-important, cocky Clarke ever see the need to lick another person’s boots? It was so mind-boggling that
Mary Jane had always been good at reading the room. All it took her to understand the situation was Javier’s suspicion being directed at her latest guest. Few people in the company possessed the authority to circumvent her in the company’s decision-making process, and even fewer still would do something explicitly for Mary Jane’s sake, all for an unselfish reason.Javier was definitely not the one. Chad had no motives. Other higher-ups were not at all close to her that such an act would seem conceivable for them to do.Sensing both of their suspicions locking on her, Jade froze, a little perplexed. “Uh, what did I do this time? You two are looking at me like that.”“Is it just me,” Javier asked, “Or have you become even more beautiful?”Jade glared at him. “Be serious!”It would be a fool’s wish to get Javier to do that, so Mary Jane stepped in. “You’re the one who’s been helping Clark Gould, aren’t you?”Jade reeled back in realization. “Oh, so this is what it’s about? Yeah, it’
While Clark was kissing the check victoriously, Mary Jane entered and picked up a square plastic stool on the floor as she made her way toward her nephew.Just as Clack turned his head when he realized that someone was walking toward him, the stool crashed against his head with a loud crack. The square plastic stool was pretty much harmless, but the broken shards easily cut Clark’s face and made it a bloody mess.Clark was bewildered, looking at his aunt, who had swung a stool in his face so violently.Mary Jane crossed her legs as she sat on the couch and asked Clark, “Do you think your aunt’s very good? That I can rein Reivaj Group? That no one dares offend me? Not even Javier and others?“Do you think your aunt’s prowess in finance is peerless? That no one can replace me? So I can do whatever I want and even let you, my nephew, do whatever you want? That you can mock Javier right in front of his bodyguard?”Clark wanted to reply when he realized that the check he was holding ea
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