Pausing, Raymond then continued, "I even told him that he could leave the bronze sculpture with me as a consignment, and I would only be eligible for a ten percent commission.""He refused to take that offer, so I offered yet again a 50-50 investment, where he would still get half of what I make after I sell the bronze sculpture. He refused me again anyway, and he was set on the three hundred grand, take it or leave it. There's security footage that proves it too, so how could I have defrauded him?"Then, seeing that there were plenty of others around them, he smiled, "Since you're here, I shall invite the public to be my witness as I show everyone the security footage I have. I will ask everyone to be the judge and decide if I've deceived his so-called brother!"Bob's heart skipped a beat at Raymond's words, but he was afraid to retreat right then, so he braced himself and snapped, "No, that's not necessary! You bought the bronze sculpture, so you return it this instant! I will ret
Pausing, Raymond continued, "To prove that the will is legally binding, a public notary needs to be present and ideally certifying said will—otherwise, you'd just be talking out of your ass.""In the case of the latter, that means the bronze sculpture belongs to your father—not you. And because you can't produce a legally binding will, it's by law that you and your brother share half the right of inheritance to that bronze sculpture… or less, should you have more living siblings or if your mother is alive.""However, since your brother has the right of inheritance, selling that bronze sculpture to me is legal. You can sue him in court and request the court make him compensate you for your loss. Therefore, what you should be doing now is filing a lawsuit against your brother, sorting out the inheritance issue instead of coming to me."Bob was left speechless, and even Zachary was stunned, unable to find the right retort.Seeing that Bob was hesitant and constantly fiddling with his
Pausing, Raymond then finished, "And last but not least, the origin of the bronze sculpture itself must be investigated to see if it was the work of some syndicate specializing in forgery!"With those words, Bob was left pale, trembling, and sweating buckets.Even Zachary could feel his soul leaving himself as he watched in secret.He really didn't expect Raymond to be that sharp, dissecting the entire plot and finding the fatal flaw directly.To prove that the bronze sculpture was stolen, Bob must first prove that he was Bill's biological brother—which he certainly wasn't.In fact, Bill only had two sisters… and worst of all, his father was still alive.As such, once the cops were involved and they investigated Bill's family, Bill's lies would be exposed.Naturally, he had the sink or swim method of having Bill admit he had stolen that bronze sculpture from a stranger's house and had a friend impersonate the lost owner. However, that still meant Bill was screwed because he wo
At that point, Zachary had completely acknowledged the fact that he had lost.As he understood that he was no match for Raymond, he knew he would get into more trouble if he kept trying to screw with him.That was why he knew all too well that if he wanted to resolve this crisis, Jacob was the only solution.All he could do now was to come up with some way to make Jacob recognize reality as there really was no other choice.As such, he waited for Jacob to land in Dubai, and he would then call Jacob and start begging.If push comes to shove, he'd just have to give Jacob all the money he had and consider it a painful lesson.-At the same time, word of Raymond's feat was circulating throughout Aurous Hill's Antique Street.Initially, many presumed that Raymond had been hiding the true value of the bronze sculpture when he bought it, but the video proved that he had unshakable character and business ethics.The security footage alone proved that there was no one else as ethical a
[Mick Crane is simply amazing—he has no skill to speak off, but he has the audacity to take on the position of manager in Vintage Deluxe? Aren't they scraping the bottom here? Hell, I can be their manager and I'd still be better!][If I were Mick, I'd be gone by now. I'd never dare show my face around Aurous Hill's Antique Street any more!]Meanwhile, Mick, who was self-aware enough to know that he had really embarrassed himself, was hiding himself in his office and refusing all visitors.He was pacing back and forth so anxiously that he was thinning his shoe soles—he had no idea what to do, just as he was embarrassed, worried and furious.It went without saying why he was embarrassed—he felt worse than if he had to take a dump by the road.As for his worry, it was for his future—he wouldn't be able to keep his job once Jasmine Moore found out about this.He certainly believed that this was all Zachary's fault—if it wasn't for the man's rotten idea, would he even be cornered into
While Jasmine could tolerate Mick's lack of accomplishments, she wouldn't tolerate him destroying Vintage Deluxe's reputation. Since his incompetence had now affected Vintage Deluxe severely, the only thing to do was to fire him.Still, there were procedures when it came to dismissal as the employee must sign a contract and the incident had to be proven. If said employee had made a severe blunder that had ultimately affected the company or incurred losses, they could terminate their contract on their own side without paying any compensation.As manager of Vintage Deluxe, Mick was in charge of all affairs in the outlet.As he had rejected someone who had come trying to sell the bronze sculpture worth 20 million for just a few hundred thousand, it certainly counted as a terrible loss.Moreover, Mick was shooting himself in the foot by recording the whole process, even paying to make it go viral. He was proving his own blunder without any chance of overturning it.Hence, while Mick
Mick swore under his breath.If the Moore Group's human resources manager had come looking for him, it couldn't be for anything good.The thought left him even more furious at Zachary, and he promptly told the employee, "Just take them to the VIP room for now. Tell them I'll be right over.""Yes, sir," the employee nodded and turned to leave.As for Mick, he whipped out his phone and called Zachary.The instant Zachary answered, he bellowed, "Zachary Evans! You've really screwed me over this time! The Moore Group human resource manager is here at Vintage Deluxe to see me—the way I see it, he's here to fire me on the spot! If I'm going to lose my job because of you, I will spill the beans and make sure everyone knows you're the one who came up with this stupid idea!"However, Zachary was infuriated too, and he immediately snapped in turn, "Have a conscience, Mick Crane! This entire plan was meant to help you chase Raymond Cole out of Antique Street, and I never took a cent from yo
At that point, Zachary was completely seized by panic.He didn't think that trying to sell Mick a favor would only result in Mick turning against him now.However, he had been crawling amongst the dregs of society for years and knew human nature all too well.There was every reason for Mick to despise him now—it was just like a driver offering a car ride, but because of his poor driving skills, he had caused an accident that left his passenger paraplegic. If the poor man demanded damages in that state, there was no way a driver could just charge into the hospital and snap at him for being an ingrate.Moreover, Mick was a man with no talents, and it was a miracle that he had managed to land himself a respectable position that paid well.Most importantly, he was basically a feudal lord, and no one would prey on anything he did. As such, if Mick really lost this job that he had gotten by chance in the first place, he would hate Zachary to the bone.And even if Zachary could be con
Charlie chuckled. "Don't sell yourself short, Mr. Hart. There are plenty of business folk who got so used to their comfort zone that they became caught in the illusion that they can be successful in anything they do. It's a mindset that leads to them blindly developing new projects and new competition, and then they end up losing big."If memory serves, there have been real estate businesses that started mineral water brands, search engines that tried the car industry, e-commerce sites attempting social media, and vice-versa. All of them are multi-billion-dollar companies venturing into new frontiers, but all to unimpressive outcomes."Pausing, Charlie then continued, "You've mentioned rising above the competition amidst the development of the new energy industry. That would get anyone's attention, and it is why I believe that you definitely will make a strong impression with your strategizing and knowledge of the basic principles."Yolden found it hard to refuse, seeing that Charli
Having lost it all, Jacob really looked like he wouldn't be getting back up.But fortunately, he had a pillar in the form of Elaine.In fact, Elaine would serve to be a container, whipping Jacob into shape if he got too full of himself.But on the other hand, now that Jacob was utterly despondent, she would be forcing him to smile and function in general.Elaine's attitude to the entire issue was clear as well. Even though Jacob had just lost his job, she would make him go shopping with her in Dubai even if he fell into a coma. Even if he was dead, she'd just cremate him and bring his ashes along.Hence, with Elaine's firm grip around Jacob's leash, he went on strolls, going shopping and taking selfies with Elaine everyday, eventually easing the toll on his mood and spirit.-Back at Aurous Hill, Charlie was preparing for Yolden Hart and Matilda Hall's wedding as it approached.Yolden was a schoolmate of his mother, Ashley Layna Acker, as well as Charlie's elder.And while Cha
"See you." As soon as Charlie hung up on Matilda, Don Albert's call came right after.He sounded nervous as Charlie answered the phone, saying, "Master Wade, I think I might have gone too far…""Wait, what's this about?" Charlie asked."Your father-in-law, of course…" Don Albert sighed. "You asked me to leave him hanging for a while, so I did. I even refused when he asked to book a room in Heaven Springs.""Well, that's not a problem, is it?" Charlie shrugged. "He and Zachary ganged up for some real mischief. As you are Zachary's boss, it's right that you refused him because you didn't appreciate what he did.""That's just it. I thought that approach was just right as well," Don Albert quickly said. "I wasn't playing nice when Mr. Bay of the Calligraphy and Painting Association called me either. That's when he said he'd try to save Jacob's position as vice-president, but I told him it's none of my business."I then hung up on him without much thought, only for Zachary to tell m
Meanwhile, Charlie was downstairs in Claire's office, waiting to pick her up and head home.That was when Matilda called him, asking as soon as he answered, "Charlie, do you know how Jacob is doing? He never answered any of my texts—is he going to be alright?""I wouldn't know," Charlie replied. "Both he and Elaine are in Dubai on a trip… What's wrong?""He resigned," Matilda sighed. "I only saw the public statement that the Calligraphy and Painting Association posted this afternoon. It says that he tendered the resignation himself, but it doesn't really feel that way. I wonder if he's at odds with other members of the association…"Charlie was actually surprised to hear that Jacob had resigned.He had told Zachary to expose the truth of the bronze sculpture fraud case to teach Jacob a lesson so that Jacob would understand the meaning of true pain.However, he anticipated that Mr. Bay would at least keep Jacob around with an unimportant job even if Jacob did lose some money and e
Falling apart in both mind and spirit, Jacob was crying as he disembarked and took a cab to the hotel.Elaine, who had been lying around for 24 hours, was stunned speechless as she watched him enter, crying like a child.In contrast, Elaine looked like a mother to Jacob just then as he threw himself into her arms and bawled, "Darling… That prick Mr. Bay screwed me over… I have nothing left now…"Taken aback for a moment that Jacob would bawl in her arms like that, Elaine soon came to her senses and patted his back as she comforted him, "Oh, stop crying already. Who cares about some Calligraphy and Painting groupies? We certainly don't! Just hear me out and don't ever go there again!"Jacob kept sobbing, "But I care… I want to go…"Annoyed, Elaine's hand that had been patting Jacob a moment ago slid down to his hip and pinched him viciously before he noticed."Ow!" Jacob yelped in pain, and he demanded indignantly, "What was that for?!""Shut up!" Elaine snapped, glowering. "I wa
Jacob couldn't even be bothered by the looks others were giving him, and he called Mr. Bay immediately.Mr. Bay had already gone home and was seated on the couch with his wife, watching his phone and waiting for Jacob to call and demand an explanation.Mr. Bay knew that he had to answer for this and that if he avoided Jacob, it may well be a confession that he had screwed Jacob over.So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he decided to come clean with Jacob.Naturally, by coming clean, he meant passing the buck as his wife had suggested.Hence, as he answered Jacob's call, he immediately sighed in embarrassment, "Hey, Jacob. I'm so sorry about that…"However, Jacob was so furious he immediately started bellowing, "Mr. Bay! Are you fucking with me here?! You said that the resignation letter was more of a formality, but you just made it public instead! So, all those things you said about helping me were just a trap, was it?! You're despicable! And to think I've been so good to you, even
The repeated flights had left Jacob tormented.Even before he actually had the time to enjoy Dubai, he had already gotten sick of the place and didn't want to ever return.And on the flight, he couldn't stop his thoughts from going astray.Now that he was not getting back the money he had lost, his only hope was Mr. Bay.Fortunately, Mr. Bay was serious about his promise that he would at least save him a job as department head. That was why, despite his thoughts running astray, he never considered the thought that he would be kicked out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association.As soon as his flight landed, he didn't wait to turn off his phone's flight mode, waiting for the internet connection to return so that he could ask Mr. Bay about the meeting.Once he did, he received a ton of messages from public accounts to acquaintances—many had already found out that he had resigned from the post of administrative vice-president and wanted to ask how he was doing.And Matilda was
The Calligraphy and Painting Association was certainly efficient—soon after the meeting was dismissed, the news that the administrative vice-president had resigned was posted on their official page and social media.The notice was simple and never mentioned what Jacob had done, only that the administrative vice-president had asked to resign for personal reasons. The request had since been voted upon, and all members had agreed to it.And that was how a simple and short message kicked Jacob out of the Calligraphy and Painting Association entirely.In the city, other associations closely connected with the Calligraphy and Painting Association were the various cultural societies and circles of antique enthusiasts and the Senior University. In fact, most fans of the public page of the Calligraphy and Painting Association were from the Senior City, and every lecturer, student, and even guest lecturer were subscribed.As a matter of fact, that was entirely Jacob's doing. After his lect
There weren't that many members in the Calligraphy and Painting Association—just a handful over twenty.Hence, at Mr. Bay's request, everyone showed up at the conference at 1 pm.He chose the afternoon as there were a handful who were away on outreach, including Walker, who was subbing for Jacob's lectures.Once the entire Calligraphy and Painting Association save for Jacob was informed of the mandatory meeting, every member was there on the hour, seated primly and in attention in the huge conference room.Mr. Bay didn't waste his breath on the preamble either—as soon as he saw that everyone had arrived, he announced, "Everyone, I've gathered you here today because our administrative vice-president, Jacob Wilson, has been alleged to be involved in a certain malicious scheme."Last night, Mr. Wilson submitted his resignation to me, and after a discussion with my vice-presidents, we've all decided to hold a vote. It will be open to every member in the association as we will be decid