Chapter 5: Strike

"George, how much longer do we have to do this?"

Nathaniel couldn't keep up with his best friend's plan. He was anxious about the meeting later, although he was assured that the rich female would go along with his game.

Suddenly, he received a call from George, who wanted him to join him in a strike against AD Systems, where they had both been retrenched three months ago. Like him, George could not secure a new job with other companies. George was a nerd and a hilarious sidekick. They had gone through a lot together in their short tenure with the company.

Unlike Nat whose craftiness led him to have an edge over the older wealthy women he provided his services to, George was humble and honest. 

But today, for George to insist on a strike against the company was completely beyond Nat. He wouldn't say anything to defame the company and neither would he employ his wondrous techniques to hack into the company's systems to get his well-deserved revenge. Nat couldn't get what was on his best friend's mind.

Even if he succeeded, it didn't determine that he would get his job back. Retrenchment happened for a reason. Unless that self-centred lady CEO who owned the company had a change of heart. And Nat knew that was indeed impossible. Of five hundred over employees, their department was the unlucky one that got targeted for the retrenchment. While his common sense told him it was normal in the society nowadays, since their little division was not earning enough for the 'upkeep' of the company, thus they were the ones who first had to go.

George was bitter about it, even no matter how many times Nat reassured him. Similarly, Nat wasn't delighted about it. Knowing something was bound to happen and accepting the fact that it had happened were two different matters. Nat and George would often silently curse their former CEO to get her just deserts. Nat even jokingly said that he hoped she wouldn't get laid. After all, she caused their problems.

Fortunately, George was still living with his family, so he had a roof over his head for now. The bank he had obtained his loan from previously was cool about not pursuing payment from him until he got a new job, since he was a first class honours graduate. That left Nat, who was a second lower class honours graduate, less a scholar than George, failing interviews and walking out empty-handed.

Being a male escort paid his bills and filled his stomach. He still couldn't bring himself to tell Regina the truth, and even last night, he was terrified she would see his claw and bite marks.

He had password-protected his phone meticulously to prevent her from getting to that video, even though he didn't have the courage to watch. He had sent screenshots of the video to the wealthy woman, without even looking at them carefully. All he knew was that thinking of her flawless figure would give him a reaction, and he didn't want that.

But for sure, she wouldn't allow him to continue blackmailing her with the video he had on hand. Reputation mattered heavily to the wealthy. He would have a deal with her and pretend to delete the video. He had copies backed up in his secret cloud accounts, and he had over seventeen such accounts, all unknown to Regina, and stowed away in the privacy of his phone.

Luckily, last night, Regina had fallen asleep on the couch after her long plane ride. He lifted her up and put her down in bed, before taking his place at her side.

In the morning, he faked he was going to work, dressed in working clothes, and left. He met George, and they talked about the usual stuff, women and sports. He took that brief time span he had with George after they had eaten to text the woman. Her response astonished him. Was she falling into his trap so readily?

That couldn't be it. There had to be something she was up to, and he would be on his best guard. 

Even then, he was Nathaniel Wood, 'always at your service'. The wealthy women he had provided his services to could not easily resist him.

For this woman, she felt a little different from his clients. He wanted to have more of her, but he reminded himself that he had Regina. He had to draw the line clearly with her. She was just a money-making opportunity and nothing more. He thought of how lusty she had been and how hot she was in bed. But virgin or not, sexy or not, he couldn't let himself develop feelings for her. That was a no-no in the rules of an escort.

Out of nowhere, some hundreds of former employees emerged. George explained these were all retrenched employees from other groups and smaller departments which Accounts and HR didn't think were useful to the company. George rounded them up, and shouted in a notable voice, "Remember what you are here for! We are here to get what we deserve back from AD Systems!"

He never remembered George ever like this in his life. His friend was the plump, down-to-earth fellow that he had forged a bond with. Nat could never imagine him this way, leading a group of people and having ideas he never knew about. He was feeling strained by his friend, after plotting for so long while leaving him in the dark.

It was at that juncture that he unconsciously looked past the crowd and saw a female figure watching him from a short distance away. While he paid little attention to her features, he felt a strange effect. It was like something took control of his body and a sensation like he was being lifted into the air overwhelmed him. Then, for a reason he couldn't explain himself, he felt himself reacting to the woman's presence.

He shook his head vigorously, and when he gazed in the direction earlier, it miffed him that the woman was gone.

Had he been dreaming it all? But the hardness in his pants was evidence that the woman was real. He recalled her rimmed spectacles and dark black hair, as black as a raven. She was in a jacket and dressed conservatively. Definitely not his type.

Then why did he get a reaction to seeing her?

'You must be mad, Nathaniel Woods. Getting a boner for someone who looks like that.' He even laughed at himself. Soon enough, he would meet Miss Wealthy and the suspense was killing him. Perhaps that was why his mind had drifted off and he had allowed that conserver to steal his attention.

He brushed off his concerns and thought about the meeting later. It would be hours later, and it excited him to see what tricks Miss Wealthy would have up her sleeve.

"The police are here!" one rioter panicked, yelling hysterically. He had ample time to evade capture and drag George with him, but when they were away from the building, George ranted about how they had run away, troubled that his 'followers' would deem him irresponsible.

Nat shook his head again. "Geo, there's always a next time. They did not build Rome in a day."

"We were just so close. But the CEO had to appear!"

CEO?

Nat glanced at George. "What CEO?"

"That woman watching us behind the crowd, she was the CEO who retrenched us!"

His findings caused Nat to freeze and reconsider his perception of the CEO of AD Systems.

Eventually, he broke out in a smile. "She's the CEO. I can confidently tell you, I'll want nothing to do with her! The mere sight of her just makes me want to throw up."

His face reddened slightly as he exerted his claim, which he dismissed because of exhaustion. But something felt familiar about the woman, like he had met her before, although those rimmed glasses and poor fashion sense were such a turnoff.

A beep distracted him suddenly, and he realised it was a message from Miss Wealthy.

"How about we move up our appointment? I can free myself from my unnecessary appointments for you."

This 'for you' sent shivers down his spine.