Chloe was is a high class salon doing her hair for the event. On any other occasion, Chloe would have behaved like a diva, demanding the best hairstyle that the salon could offer.On this occasion, she looked uninterested. She was content with any style that the hairdresser suggested, even if it wasn't the best.For the last few days, she had been worried about her sister Madison's whereabouts. Although she was relieved that Madison didn't go back to the Smith household, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was going to happen."Ms Chloe....Ms Chloe." the hairdresser's voice snapped Chloe out of her trance."Yes, yes. Sorry I didn't hear you." replied Chloe."Is this style OK for you?" the hairdresser asked nervously. "Yes, this will do. Thank you." replied Chloe.Chloe then walked to the cashier and paid for the session, tipping the receptionist a hundred in cash before leaving.The receptionist then asked the hairdresser, "Hey, don't you think something is wrong wi
Derek had just finished his call with Eric Bradley when Amanda walked back into his office."It's done, honey. I've briefed Chloe on her assignment." reported Amanda."Good work, dear. Only one thing left to do. Give me a minute." replied Derek, before making a quick call to Desmond. "Hi Desmond, I forgot to mention this to you earlier. When Madison and Nick arrive at the loading bay, have our security team escort them to a room behind the staging area. Trust me, they'll want to be there." instructed Derek. "Got it, brother." replied Desmond. Click!*Growl*"Woah....was that your stomach complaining, honey?" Amanda asked jokingly."Yeah...in the midst of all the preparations I forgot about lunch. Are you hungry, love? Let's order in some pizza." asked Derek."Sounds fine, honey. We can't go to war on an empty stomach. I'll make the call." replied Amanda. Three minutes later, the order was placed. After placing the order, Amanda noticed Derek standind behind his desk, staring out o
It was very unusual for Desmond to have so much free time on his hands. Usually, Desmond would be running around with his security teams ensuring the safety of all staff and guests under the Quinton Consortium. On this day of all days, Desmond had nothing to do. Everyone in the security department assured Desmond they knew their roles. Even Alex and his gang were well aware of their tasks and reassured Desmond they were ready to execute their tasks.Jocelyn, his girlfriend noticed he was getting restless. She took a seat next to him in the living room of their shared apartment in the Townsville Hillside Condo. "What's wrong, honey? You seem so restless." Jocelyn said to Desmond, holding his hand. "I'm sorry for making you worry, dear. I'm just not used to sitting around." replied Desmond. "It's rare that boss gave you the day off. You should relax. You've earned it." said Jocelyn. "Really? Do you think I've earned it?" Desmond asked, slightly surprised. "Tell me why you have not
The evening draws near. It's not too long before Amanda and Derek head out from Quinton Tower to the Townsville Exhibition Center. Similarly, Team MNS, Joanne Lopez and Steph's mother were waiting patiently at Madison's presidential suite at Quinton Hotel. Peter, Lea and Owen were already at the Townsville Exhibition Center, getting ready for the night's festivities. They took the responsibility to welcome and entertain all guests, tenants and participants of the design competition, at the same time looking out for the arrival of the Smith family. Earlier, Derek sent a text to his parents and Owen to notify him when the Smiths arrive. That would be his signal to contact Team MNS and for him and Amanda to set off. While Derek was sitting on his desk waiting for the call or text, Amanda came out of the shower in Derek's office, dressed to the nines. Amanda had her hair bundled up; but her tri-coloured hair is still visible from all angles. She was dressed in a gorgeous strapless, b
For once, Owen was speechless. Facing Monica Burnett, who was Steph's mother, and also struggling with words."Ermmm....Monica, shall we head outside the ballroom? I think we are blocking the way for people to eat." Owen suggested. "Yes, that would be nice." replied Monica and both of them adjourned to the main entrance of the building. They walked past the main entrance to a pavilion at the corner of the Exhibition Centre grounds, where they sat on one of the benches."Soooo.....when did you come back to Townsville?" Owen asked Monica."About twenty years ago. After we graduated in high school, my family and I migrated to Australia. That's why we lost contact.""About seven years later, I got married....it was a shotgun marriage. Some jerk knocked me up and we ended up in an arranged marriage. About two years after that, we divorced.""My parents blamed me for the divorce and kicked me and Steph out of their house. They did give me some money so Steph and I flew back here to Townsv
The attention on Derek and Amanda was something both of them would previously shy away from. Not this night.As much as the whole of Townsville wants to know who will be working with the Quinton Consortium, Derek made sure the spotlight was on him and Amanda.Both held hands and walked uprightly and confidently intot the ballroom, ignoring all the eyes gawking and staring at them. They were soaking in the moment.At the corner of the ballroom, the Smith family was utterly shocked seeing Derek walk in with a beautiful lady beside him. Madam Louise, in particular, was infuriated. "Charles! Didn't you say that your hired gun took care of that trash loser" Madam Louise whispered angrily at Charle."He did. Everyone saw the picture, including you." Charles replied back."Well then, who is that walking into the ballroom that looks like the trash loser? Clearly your hired gun took you for a joyride." said Dave, Charles's father."Forget about that trash for a minute...isn't that Lizzy? Madi
Charles was still seething as he walked over to rejoin his family. He could not believe a word that Eric said to him. How was it possible that loser like Derek could afford the centrepiece car in the ballroom?"Charles, what's wrong? You look like you're about to kill someone." said Chloe."Woooo.....I see what you did there, sister." said Juri. "Haha. Very funny. If it's not illegal and if I could make a scene right now, I would have killed that trash loser Derek on the f*****g spot!!" said Charles, gritting his teeth, trying to hold back his anger."What did he do this time?" asked Raymond."Everyone, see that showpiece car in this ballroom? Do you know who bought that? That f*****g b*****d loser!" said an enraged Charles.All the Smiths reacted with their jaws on the floor, figuratively speaking. All except Chloe and Madam Louise. "Charles! I told you to not to bring any unnecessary attention to yourself! You embarrassed yourself and the family. Stay here with us and do not take
"Good evening, everyone. Welcome to tonight's event." began Peter.Everyone in the ballroom stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to the stage.Owen and Monica returned to the ballroom and went to the upper deck where Steph and Joanne were.Wayne and Kimberly rejoined Desmond and Jocelyn in the ballroom, next to Eric and Angela.All of QC Enterprise's employees were gathered towards the front of the ballroom. All tenants of BDT mall were situated at the left of the ballroom. Alex and his gang stood outside a side entrance of the ballroom, closer to the stage.The Smiths were at the opposite corner of the BDT mall tenants, waiting in anticipation of what Peter Quinton will say next.Peter continued, "I'm sure everyone is very anxious to find out who we have selected to work with us; not only to rebuild BDT mall; but to also kick-start the building of our new beach resort." "Our team has been tirelessly vetting through all submitted design proposals. At this point,
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