"Hi, Maddy. Are you on your way?" Nick asked on his phone. "Hi Nick. I just reached the mall." replied Madison. "Ok. Meet me at my sister's boutique." said Nick."Ok, then." replied Madison. Click."She's coming up, brother." Nick said to Derek.Five minutes later, Madison arrived at JL boutique. She was shocked seeing the people in there."Brother Derek? Ms Amanda? What a surprise....what brings you here?" asked Madison."Hi cousin. It's been awhile. Good to see you again." Derek said with a smile."Hi Madison. We were just dropping by to get some dresses for Sunday's event." said Amanda, walking towards Derek and holding his hand. "Errr....Ms Amanda....why are you holding my cousin's hand?" asked Madison.Although she already knew about Derek and Amanda, she tried to act innocent as though she is not aware."Isn't it obvious, cousin? We're together now." Derek replied, smiling widely. There's no need to speculate anymore. The words came our of her cousin's mouth. Madison's wish
The sun was shining brightly through the windows, signalling the dawn of a new day.Amanda slowly woke up from her serene slumber. She looked to the left of the bed and smiled, seeing her sheer nightgown on the floor. She then turned to her right, the bed sheet covering her naked body and looked at the sexy man laying next to her, his body also covered by the bed sheet.Amanda then leaned forward to that man and kissed him on the cheek."Good morning, Daddy Q." Amanda whispered to Derek's ear.Derek slowly woke from his sleep and turned to his left, facing the girl of his dreams."Good morning, Mandy love." replied Derek as he kissed Amanda's forehead.Derek and Amanda snuggled under the sheets, embracing each other and treasuring the moment."We need to wash up, honey. We got to go to work." said Amanda."Awww...can't we stay like this awhile more?" Derek sounded disappointed. "There will be more in the future. Come on. Let's go shower." replied Amanda. Both of them got up from De
Amanda was preparing the virtual call involving Derek, Madison, Nick and Steph. Steph was fortunate to have the day off while Madison lied to Madam Louise that she was meeting her informant. Team MNS gathered in the backroom of NL Suits, which was closed to the public for the duration of the virtual call.Everyone was present, waiting for Derek to join in.Thirty seconds later, Derek connected to the virtual call, satisfied that everyone was already waiting for him. He made sure to change the background of his screen so as to conceal his real identity to team MNS."Hi everyone. Thank you for joining this meeting. I'm sure everyone here is curious about the purpose of it, so I'll get straight to it." began Derek. "Amanda, Steph, you'll be hearing this for the first time; yesterday, Madison informed me about how the Smith family is plotting to 'prevent' me from attending Sunday's event.""As you may suspect, there is more than one way to define the word 'prevent' in relation to them.
"Mr Beck, Mr Cross, the office has been thoroughly searched. Mr Cross, we found this." Owen's installation team leader emerged from QC Enterprise office and passed a bug mic to Wayne, who was shocked upon being passed a bug microphone. "Where did you find this?" asked Wayne."We found this on one of the cubicles. There was a name tag next to the mic. I believe the name is Yvonne Wilson." replied the team leader. "Thank you for your report. Are they any other bug mics or cameras?" asked Wayne."No. This is the only one.""Okay, thank you. You may proceed to install our security cameras." said Owen."Yes, Mr Beck." replied the team leader before heading back into the QC Enterprise office."Kimberly's instincts about Yvonne were right all this time. I should have known better." said Wayne."Don't be too hard on yourself, young man. Having Kimberly by your side is an advantage to both of you. Now you know someone is trying to ruin you from within, you can nip this problem in the bud."
Bang!Derek slammed his office table in anger, after hearing the recording of the Smith's family dinner conversation from the previous night."I always knew that old b**** was an evil manipulative old hag; but now she has become the devil!" Derek growled in anger."Calm down, boss. We still need to warn Madison and Nick." said Amanda, who was internally saddened seeing her boss and boyfriend so distraught. "It's more than that now, Amanda. Steph and Joanne are now implicated too." said Derek. "And no offense, boss; but we temporarily can't bring anymore people into the Townsville Hillside Condo. If we do, that place will be like a bomb shelter in a war zone." said Amanda."No offense taken, Amanda. You're absolutely right about that. My parents' place and Quinton Tower are out of the question too. That leaves one place.....Quinton Hotel Townsville." said Derek."Didn't your parents want to celebrate your birthday there, boss?" asked Amanda."We have to change the location. We can ce
"Mr Jones. I got a picture of the person asking for our guy's help." reported Alex."Send it over." replied Desmond.Ding!Desmond opened his phone to see the picture sent to him."So it was Charles after all. Oh ho ho....I can't wait to get back at you." Desmond mumbled to himself. Desmond then made a call back to the gang leader Alex."Good job, Alex. I have a special assignment for you. I need you to pick somebody up. I'm sending you a picture of the person. After which, I'll instruct you what to say. Be careful, though; this could get messy." said Desmond."Roger that, Mr Jones. I'll try my best to be careful." replied Alex.Desmond gave Alex his instructions before hanging up."You've been doing well, Desmond. If you can pull through to Sunday, I'll ask Young Quinton to end your probation." said Owen, who was in Desmond's office."Well, Mr Beck, Sunday is the day where all worlds are going to collide. I just hope everyone is ready. I know boss and Amanda are ready. Jocelyn and I
Derek was back in the Quinton Mansion with his parents in the living room. He then explained the series of events to Peter and Lea while they were away. "That's a lot to take in. Seems like we missed out on all the fun." said Peter. "Seriously, dad? You call this 'fun'?" replied Derek. "You know he was joking, son. All jokes aside, you and everyone else have been through a lot over the last few days. Are you all overwhelmed?" asked Lea. "We are handling it, mum. Where I need you both will be behind the scenes and at the end of all this." replied Derek. "Please explain, son. We'll help anyway we can." said Peter, "I need you to be secret buyers of the DreamSmith company. I need you to send someone that the Smiths do not recognise to represent you to buy out the company. I also need that someone to announce that one of the Smiths will be named CEO when the buyout is complete. That CEO will receive the buyout money as a promotion" said Derek. "How much do you want us to spend on t
The final few days have passed. The day has arrived. It's Sunday. The Quinton Consortium Event is here. Soon, everyone attending the event will know whose design will be chosen for the rebuilding of BDT mall and the foundation of the new beach resort for the Quinton Consortium. All who have submitted their designs were automatically welcomed to the event. The tenants of BDT mall will also be in attendance. Early morning sunshine shone through Derek's room window. Derek slowly woke up, more refreshed and focused as usual. It's time to put all his plans into action. But before all that, Derek can put all his plans on hold....at least for the morning. There was reason for him to celebrate. It's his birthday. More importantly, the first birthday he is celebrating with his family. His real family. Derek went about his usual routine, which includes his morning stretch and exercise routine. His shower was longer than usual. He wanted to soak in the moment. After changing into a loo
Hi Readers, After nearly a year, Who's the Loser Now is finally complete. I hope you enjoyed reading the original and the sequel as much as I have creating the storylines. Man, this was a long journey. There were so many ways to close this series; but I didn't want to get distracted. So, I decided to end it the series in this manner. I will be taking a short break to celebrate the new year. After which, I will start work on a new novel. So, until then, thank you all so much for your support on Who's the Loser Now. Keep the likes, comments and ratings coming to help promote this novel. Your feedback, as always, is much appreciated. It has been a wonderful journey and this one ends here. Stay tuned for the next journey. Altogether, everyone! (With the characters in the background) Happy New Year!! Love, JDHWS
The cameras were flashing as journalists and reporters gathered at the eagerly anticipated launch of the new mall in Townsville, specifically located near the Townsville Hillside Condo. Standing in front of the main entrance, Desmond and Jocelyn faced the crowd. Desmond then took the mic to address the crowd, "After months of construction, through reported ups and downs, we are happy to announce, on behalf of the Quinton Consortium, the officially opening of Townsville Hillside Mall." said Desmond. He then took his side next to Jocelyn and proceeded to perform the cutting of the ribbon, signalling that the Townsville Hillside Mall was officially opened. Applause rang all around the front as Desmond and Jocelyn opened the front entrance doors, welcoming the crowd into the mall. In another corner of Townsville, Wayne and Kimberly were also dressed sharply; but for a different reason. Joining them were Roland and Elaine Russo, as all four of them stood in front of the main entrance t
"Brother Derek, are you sure about this?" asked Charles as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a tuxedo; but not any ordinary tuxedo. Derek had Charles wear his diamond encrusted tuxedo, the most expensive tuxedo he bought from Nick Lopez when he first found out he was a Quinton. "I'm sure about it, Charles. I know I bought it for me initially; but in all honesty, you wearing this tux means so much more." Derek reassured Charles. "Man, I'm nervous. Brother, how did you even go through your wedding with Ms. Amanda?" asked Charles exasperately. "Desmond told me to take a deep breath to calm my nerves. It could work for you, too." replied Derek. Charles decided to take Derek's advice and took two deep breaths. Surprisingly, he felt much calmer. Then he and Derek heard a knock on the door. In walked Mason, "Brother, are you ready?" asked Mason. "As ready as I'll ever be." replied Charles. All three of them then walked upstairs... to the top deck of Charles's superyach
The prison gate key entered the lock. With a click, the warden opened the cell gate, with mixed emotions. "Madam Louise... it's time." In her cell, Madam Louise looked around the jail cell she had been living in, serving her time for her past wrongs. She thought about the time she spent in the cell, forming a close friendship with the warden, being released early to help Team Quinton and the Phoenix Mafia, eventually being a key player in the fight against Pamela. It was a sad day to leave her family after the fight ended; but heading back to prison was necessary. Thanks to Lea Quinton, however, she did not have to stay in prison any longer. She received a pardon from the Mayor of Townsville; and now, she can leave the Townsville prison freely. She slowly stood up and walked towards the cell door, where she noticed her warden friend had a tear in his eye. Smiling slightly, she wiped the tear away from his eye. "No need to weep for me, young man. We will meet again, outside of t
With the mask worn on his face; and the briefcase full of cash repacked into a duffel bag found in the control room, Charles slung the bag over his shoulder, ready to move out of Pamela's HQ. Before heading out, Charles made sure to surround himself in a nanoshield sphere to avoid any sudden sneak attacks. After which, Charles used his upgraded suit to do a thorough scan, looking to devise an alternate way out of Pamela's HQ. 'Hmmm... it looks like I'm going to have to blast my way out of here. Time to check out what weapons are at my disposal.' Charles thought to himself. Scanning the system in his suit through his mask, Charles was surprised to find various forms of weaponry to pave his way out. "Well then, let's get started." Charles said to himself. However, as we was about to step out of Pamela's control room, an alarm sounded inside of the control room. Red emergency lights were flickering in the control room. Charles turned his direction to one of the screens in the control
"Gerard! Andrea! You certainly have some guts showing your faces here after you betrayed me!" Pamela sneered at the couple. "Lady Boss... wait! We did not betray you." Gerard defended himself. "That's right, Lady Boss! The hostages... they escaped!!" shouted Andrea. "WHAT?!?!?" Pamela shouted angrily. She then turned her attention to Charles, who was standing there, perplexed. "Charles!! You were at the dungeon earlier. You said you saw your team in their cells. Is that true?!?" Pamela asked authoritatively. "Absolutely, Lady Boss. I personally locked up the dungeon after making sure that loser Derek was in his cell." replied Charles. "He's lying, Lady Boss. Charles must still be working with his friends. Somehow, they managed to get their suits from the lab and escape from this place." Gerard said accusingly, pointing at Charles at the same time. "Hold on there, Gerard. Up until just now, when Lady Boss showed me her lab, I did not even know that existed." Charles defended hims
"You tell me, Charles. How did you and that loser escape in the first place?" Pamela asked suspiciously. Charles was calm in his answer, "Well, I found a couple of metal pins in my cell and I used it to pick my cell lock." Charles began. "Once I got free, that's where I hatched my plan. I picked the lock of Derek's cell. I had to convince him that he and I were on the same team in taking you out. So, while the rest were in their cells, which, by the way, they still are, Derek and I made our way out of the dungeon." explained Charles. "Well, you certainly have some talent, unlike that loser. Still, Gerard and Andrea not reporting back is concerning for me." replied Pamela. As she looked at the monitors of the control room, she noticed something peculiar, then she started frowning. "What's wrong, Lady Boss?" asked Charles. "Take a look at that." said Pamela, pointing Charles's attention to one of the monitors surveying the lab. "What about it, Lady Boss?" asked Charles curiously. "C
Before Charles could answer, they heard footsteps approaching the dungeon. Derek passed Gerard's dungeon keys to Charles before he cloaked himself again. In order to play along with Pamela's ploy, Charles quickly opened the dungeon door, placed Victoria gently inside before locking the door again. The footsteps grew audibly closer towards the dungeon door. Charles turned his attention towards the sound of those footsteps and walked in that direction, taking caution to who he might run into. As he turned around the corner, he found out who those footsteps belong to. "Oh my gosh, Esther. What are you doing here?" Charles exclaimed softly as he embraced his girlfriend. "Wait, you shouldn't be here. Didn't Mr. Quinton give you and the rest the order to head to the safehouse?" asked Charles. "I had to come here. I was not going to let that b***h Pamela take you." replied Esther emotionally. Just then, Derek decloaked himself and met up with Charles and Esther. "Esther, so it was you. G
"Ok, Charles, the feed is on." said Pamela. "Take your position, on Derek's right side." "Understood, Lady Boss." replied Charles. Seconds later, everyone, including the people in the Phoenix Bunker, the safehouse and the combined invasion and rescue team saw the live feed on their screens. "Your eyes do not deceive you, Peter. Charles has betrayed you. He has decided to join a real mafia and I will nurture him properly, so he can be a real Don." began Pamela. "As you can see, I have your son as hostage. If you ever want to see Derek again, in one piece and alive, firstly, call off your attack dogs. Secondly, you will, and I mean WILL, surrender your precious Quinton Consortium to me. Oh, before I forget, that includes your so-called Phoenix Mafia as well." "And just in case you think I'm not being serious... " Pamela then did something no one expected. She pressed a button on her control panel; and in the next moment, Ivy's suit emerged from a corner of her control room. 'What th