Victor’s plan was rather simple. He had no intention of making Jade repay him in cash—not that Jade could fork out that much—and instead wanted to direct their conversation toward the shares, hoping that Jade would offer them as repayment.After all, shares were valuable and were what he needed most right now. It then surprised Victor when Jade opened her mouth and said thank you, looking like she was done with the matter.That was one expensive thank-you. Million-dollar syllables!While Victor was caught up in his shock, Jade giggled and spoke up, “I know you like to pamper me, but I can’t possibly let you pay so much, right?“Why don’t we strike a deal? When we defeat that traitor Matthew, I’ll transfer 10% of the shares to you as thanks for your help and as repayment for the 7.5 million dollars.“When that time comes, you mustn’t refuse me at that time, all right? It’s my way of showing my appreciation for you…”After some more “genuine” thanking, Jade left with Javier.Victo
That afternoon, as Javier drove back to the office after taking care of some personal business, a van started haggling him on the road and forced him to stop by the side. Immediately, three more vans appeared and surrounded his car.As he looked at the thugs getting out of the vehicles, Javier figured that it most probably had to do with what had happened last night. The man showed no signs of panic though, and even had the mood to pat his pockets for a cigarette, only to realize he had none.“I need to remember to get two more packets and keep them in the car when I go out shopping next time.”Muttering to himself, Javier got out of his car and was about to pull his phone out of his pocket to toss it back into the vehicle when he spotted a familiar face. It was a large, shiny bald head. It was the fellow who had wanted to cut his ear off the last time.Javier wracked his brain and finally recalled his name. “Sam Langdon, right? Great timing! Come, come. I’ve run out of cigarettes
Zayn was absolutely put off by the idea of physically harming Javier because he was scared that Chessie would hunt him down. But the woman did say that she did not care about anything else, so he diverted his attention toward other aspects.While Zayn was contemplating on how he would strike now, Victor had taken the step first. He called for a shareholders meeting to snatch away a big project that Mathew was in charge of.When Matthew found out about this, he boiled with rage and wished he could stab the old man.“Victor is openly snatching away my project. What’s worse is that Jade is actually taking his side!”Although the shareholders meeting had yet to begin, Matthew had already assumed that Jade would side with Victor. That was also what Victor thought, so he was exceptionally delighted when the five old-timers got together.“Brothers, don’t worry. After we take over Matthew’s project, I’ll make it ours. I, Victor Dowding, am not a hog. We’ll share the windfall that comes ou
There was no use reporting Victor’s scam to the police. The fact that he had resorted to such a tactic meant that he would be careful to not leave any evidence behind. Moreover, he had a letter that stated Catherine had willingly transferred the shares.After sending Jade home to placate Catherine, Javier sat by the road, lit up a cigarette, and contemplated the matter.This was close to a crisis. Victor originally held 31% of the shares. After conning Catherine of her 13% today, he now held 44% in total. If he managed to secure another 7%, he would gain absolute authority.And getting his hands on another 7% would be no challenge at all. He could gather that amount just by taking a little from each of the other four old-timers.Seeing that they were pressed for time and regular tactics would be futile, Javier decided to stray away from the righteous path. He fished out his phone and dialed Herschel’s number.“The woman Victor Dowding abducted this afternoon was similar to Jade in
Javier leisurely sat before the desk and lit up a stick. Then, he took down the “no smoking” sign by the side. Javier turned around to look at Victor, who was still focused on the computer screen before him. “Show’s over. You can stop looking at it now.”Victor finally regained his senses but pretended to remain calm. “Why would you show me this piece of sh*t news? Do you think I’ve got a lot of time on my hands?!”“Sh*t news? I can’t tell though…”Javier handed Victor a coffee mug as he spoke. Meanwhile, Victor stared at the mug as Javier flicked the ashes from his cigarette into it without a shred of emotion on his face. After that, Javier pointed at the file on the desk. “It’s inside, take a look for yourself.”“I don’t know what’s inside though.” Even so, Victor pondered for about 30 seconds, before he could not contain his curiosity any longer and picked up the file. When he saw the contents, Javier continued to speak. “Yesterday afternoon, a guy by the name of Rob
Victor was in tears at this point, the drops running down his face. Throughout his entire life, Victor had come up with all sorts of dirty tricks and underhanded tactics, all so that he could become the chairman! Alas, when the shares were finally in his hands and the chairman’s title was just within inches of his grasp, all he could do was give it away with open arms. He felt aggrieved, but there was nothing he could do about it since he could only choose his life over money when he knew he was going to be delivered to death’s doorstep should he refuse. Victor did not want to live out the rest of his days in prison, nor did he want his son to be sentenced to death.Thus, that was the only option that remained for him. After another ten minutes, Victor and Javier had visited the relevant department to have all of the shares he held unconditionally transferred to Jade.And that was not all. Javier even brought Victor to the notary to have his statement filmed, an agreement that st
That afternoon, Jade called for a shareholders meeting for the third time. Everyone felt very unhappy about this and wondered if Jade had been touched in the head. ‘She clearly knows that Victor’s currently in the hospital, so why is she calling for a shareholders meeting at a time like this?’Many did not want to attend, but they all still attended because of the fact that Jade expressed there was something important she wanted to announce during the meeting. “It doesn’t matter how important this announcement is. Victor’s still lying in the hospital right now, so this meeting would be no better than a formal courtesy!”“Let’s see how it goes. If it’s something beneficial to us, we’ll just support her and vote for her motion to proceed.”“You’re right. If it’s not beneficial to us, Jade might as well forget even trying…”The four elders from the five-man group were muttering as they discussed and entered the conference room. They were completely in the belief that they held the
“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to kick Matthew out of the company…”Jade’s face was filled with embarrassment while Javier was driving her home. Taking a good look at her expression, Javier chuckled and said, “It’s all right, you’re a very kind woman by nature, so it’s very normal for you to not have done so.”Jade did not know if she was truly being kind or plain stupid. Matthew had clearly done all sorts of things toward her in the past, yet Jade somehow thought of her grandfather at that crucial moment, about how Matthew was his only son, and how her grandfather might feel very sad if he found out that she had kicked Matthew out of the company. “Since I’m the chairwoman, I think Matthew probably won’t dare do anything stupid even if he wants to, so…”Javier nodded his head. “Yeap, I understand. It’s all right.”However, although Javier was comforting Jade, his acceptance of her explanation was another matter directly. After all, once a snake, always a snake…Just
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